Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to the media on Monday, with the first questions regarding two injured Oilers: Jake Walman and Kasperi Kapanen. When asked about the timeline of the return of both players, Knoblauch had this to say.

“It looks like it, we’ll see how feels after practice, then he’ll get evaluated then he’ll get the full clearing. Right now it looks pretty good. [Walman] was not ready. Guessing sometime next week, probably when we’re playing that two-game road trip. Maybe before it, maybe after it, but that’s kind of mid-next week we’re looking at.”

Kapanen, a player the Oilers claimed on waivers last season, has played just six games for them in 2025-26, all at the start of the season. It looked as if he was on track to return in late November, but left evidently had a setback during a practice and left frustrated. In his own media scrum on Sunday, he said he’s aiming for a return on Tuesday when the Oilers host the Nashville Predators.

On Monday morning, Kapanen was paired with Vasily Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl on the second line. The trio has some experience together, playing just under 37 minutes together during the 2025 playoffs during five-on-five action, where they had 58.69 percent of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

It won’t be surprising to see Kapanen drop to the bottom six soon, as the Finn is exactly what they need. He gives the Oilers speed, along with depth scoring as he potted five goals and 13 points in 57 regular season games with the Oilers in 2024-25, with three goals and six points in 12 postseason games (including one of the biggest goals of the Oilers’ playoff run).