The Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins have made another deal, this time swapping defenseman Spencer Stastney and forward Filip Hallander, according to announcements from both teams.
For Edmonton, the move sends out a player it brought in last season from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 third-round pick. That acquisition came on the same day the Oilers made a separate trade with Pittsburgh that brought netminder Tristan Jarry to Alberta.
Stastney was supposed to help fill the hole left by Brett Kulak, who was dealt from Edmonton to Pittsburgh that day as well, but he never found a real foothold with the Oilers. He made the opening-night roster for 2026-27, yet he has not appeared in a game this season.
His struggles in Edmonton help explain why the Oilers were willing to move on. After arriving from Nashville, Stastney had a rough finish to last season, putting up one goal in 36 games while posting a minus-10 rating and averaging 16:02 of ice time per game. That was a drop from what he had shown with the Predators, where he had nine points in six fewer games and averaged two fewer minutes per night.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is taking another swing on a player with some promise but plenty left to prove. Hallander has had a strong run in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but he has not yet put everything together at the NHL level. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, he has two goals and seven points in 18 games with the Penguins.
Still, the Penguins were able to get something back for him, which matters. Hallander had previously left the organization entirely and went to the SHL’s Timrå IK to keep his career moving.
In Sweden, he was excellent, scoring 40 goals and 89 points in 102 games with a plus-24 rating. That stretch was enough to convince Pittsburgh to bring him back to North America.
Hallander’s path has already included a couple of trades. Pittsburgh originally dealt him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020, then got him back a year later in the trade that sent Jared McCann to Toronto.
Now 26, Hallander still has time to grow into a reliable NHL forward, especially given what he did in Sweden. But injuries slowed him last season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll ever fully put it all together.
On the other side, the Penguins are adding Stastney, a left-shot defenseman who could give them another option on the blue line, even if it’s not immediately obvious where he fits. With Ryan Graves as the only injury currently affecting Pittsburgh’s defense, Stastney’s path into the lineup may not be straightforward, though his handedness could allow Trevor van Riemsdyk to move to his forehand.
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Oilers Make A Needed Depth Move As Injuries Keep Pressuring Forwards
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Oilers May Have Finally Found Bottom Six Help In An Unexpected Deal
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For a club trying to round out its depth scoring, Hallander is an interesting fit because he brings a resume that suggests there may be more to unlock than his NHL sample has shown so far. The deal also nudges Edmonton in the right direction financially, which only adds to the appeal of taking a swing on a player who could help stabilize the lower half of the lineup if the fit is right. [Read more 🡒]