Midway through the 2025-26 season, the Edmonton Oilers sent Brett Kulak packing as part of the Tristan Jarry trade. The move left a hole on the third pair, so they made another deal, acquiring Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick. The 26-year-old had promising underlying metrics, but only 81 games of NHL experience.

While Kulak was struggling at the time of the trade, he had an impressive track record with the Oilers for nearly four years. He even stepped into a top-pair role last postseason when Ekholm missed over a month with an injury, so Stastney had big shoes to fill.

One of the most noticeable things about Stastney is his mobility. NHL EDGE’s player tracking ranked him in the 88th percentile in both max speed and speed bursts above 20 MPH. While Stastney’s fast-paced game was promising, he lacked Kulak’s experience in tougher assignments.

He got his first real taste of top-four action next to Darnell Nurse, whom the Oilers hadn’t found a consistent partner for. Unfortunately, the experiment produced ugly results.

Nurse and Stastney were a minus-three together, with a subpar 43 per cent expected goal share. Playing Stastney on his offside in tougher minutes than he was accustomed to wasn’t a recipe for success. He quickly returned to a bottom pair role next to Ty Emberson.

The Stastney-Emberson duo showed well, outscoring the opposition 8-5 with a 52.7 per cent expected goal share. When the Oilers traded for Connor Murphy, however, Walman moved down to the third pair, pushing Stastney up to the press box.

Stastney is still the fourth man on the depth chart at left defence, but there may be a chance for him to get back in the lineup regularly next season. The Oilers reportedly shopped Nurse at the trade deadline, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they revisit those talks this summer. If they do trade Nurse, Stastney could find himself back in the mix for a full-time role. The Oilers traded a third-round pick for him, so there is clearly a belief within the organization that he can be a solid everyday player in Edmonton

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