Oilers land Filip Hallander from Penguins for Stastney

Yet another Pens-Oilers trade, and this one landed hours before Edmonton's playoff rematch with the Flyers. Here's the deal and the money.

PuckPedia

@PuckPedia

🚨Trade To #Letsgopens Spencer Stastney 26 y/o D, Yr 1/1 $1.525M To #Letsgooilers Filip Hallander 26 y/o F, Yr 2/2 $850K Pit adds $675K net cap hit t.co/GfKzcs6PBC

Stastney is on a 1-year, $1.525M deal, and this is his 3rd team in less than a year. Nashville moved him to Edmonton in December, he re-signed with the Oilers in July, and he hadn't dressed for a game yet this season. He has 4 goals and 15 assists in 117 career games between the Predators and Oilers. Edmonton is deep on the blue line, which made him the easy guy to move.

Hallander is the more interesting player. He's a 2018 2nd-round pick who has bounced between Pittsburgh and Timra in Sweden, and he has only 18 NHL games across 4 seasons. He was off to a strong start this year, though, with a goal and 2 assists in 2 games. The Penguins' beat was surprised they were the ones giving him up, and the explanation is roster math.

Josh Yohe

@JoshYohe_PGH

I'm surprised that Hallander was the forward the Penguins decided to move. They love him. But remember, the other team has a say in this kind of thing also, and I can see why Hallander is a player the Oilers would like. The forward logjam was getting a little ridiculous. At some point, room needs to be made for Rutger McGroarty. And then there is Elmer Soderblom, who showed last season that he very much can play. And then there is Avery Hayes. And eventually Bill Zonnon and Will Horcoff. The Penguins are considerably thinner on the blue line, so the move makes sense from that standpoint. Personally I love Hallander and would have had a hard time moving him. But I am not the general manager.

That's the logic. Pittsburgh has more forwards than it has spots, with Rutger McGroarty, Elmer Soderblom and Avery Hayes all pushing for ice time and more prospects behind them. It is much thinner on defense, so the Penguins traded from the position they could spare. For Edmonton, the appeal is a forward who knows how to play a bottom-6 role, and the Oilers have needed more of those.

By Wednesday afternoon, Stan Bowman was explaining the Oilers' side. He said they had wanted Hallander since his SHL days, and he addressed the health question head on.

Janson Duench

@reporterJD

Stan Bowman said Filip Hallander is a player the Oilers were interested in going back to his time in the SHL. Said the blood clots that plagued him In 2025-26 are no longer an issue. Hallander will join the team on their flight to San Jose tomorrow. Bowman said he didn’t know when he might play.

The blood clots are the reason Hallander's 2025-26 season went sideways, and the reason his 18-game NHL total looks so thin. Bowman says they're behind him. He'll fly with the team to San Jose, but nobody's putting a date on his Oilers debut.

By Wednesday night there was one more question: where does he play? He's listed as a centre, but Edmonton's radio guys pointed out he has barely taken a faceoff in the NHL. Haase cleared that up, and it's the best scouting report anyone gave all day.

Jason Gregor

@JasonGregor

"Last year before he had the blood clot issue, he had worked his way up to Crosby's line. He has some offensive upside, but he is a winger. He hasn't played centre for a few years he told me he views himself as a winger. He can also kill penalties," Haase on Hallander. @sports1440 #Oilers

Working his way onto Crosby's line before the clots hit says plenty about how Pittsburgh saw him. Edmonton is getting a winger who can kill penalties and won't hurt them in the bottom 6, and it gave up a defenseman it wasn't playing. Stastney fills a hole on the Pens' blue line. Hallander's first job is getting into the lineup, and the next thing to watch is whether Edmonton slots him in on the California trip or brings him along slowly after a lost year.