Kasperi Kapanen signs new deal 24 hours before free agency.

Kasperi Kapanen will be back with the Edmonton Oilers next season.

Kapanen was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st but after going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final this year it seems he prefers to take another run at a championship with the Oilers

Puck Pedia was first with the news, reporting that Kapanen has greed to a new one year deal that will carry an average annual value and cap hit of just $1.3 million per season.

Kapanen found moderate success with the Oilers during the regular season, appearing in 57 games and scoring 5 goals while adding 8 assists for a total of 13 points in the regular season. It was in the Stanley Cup playoffs that Kapanen would elevate his game however and I believe it was that display of playoff prowess that earned him his new contract from the Oilers.

In 12 playoff games Kapanen had 3 goals and 3 assists for a total of 6 points, and showed a willingness to engage in the more physical aspects of the game.

The 28 year old Finnish forward is a well established NHL veteran at this point in his career with well over 500 games of NHL experience under his belt, and I see very little downside to this deal for the Oilers.

The Oilers have very limited cap space to work with this summer with a new contract for defenseman Evan Bouchard expected to eat up the majority of that, so getting a player like Kapanen on a relatively cheap deal was an important piece of business for the Oilers today.