The Edmonton Oilers made a big splash on Friday, acquiring Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second round pick.
The moves mark the end (for now) of a long term top surrounding the Oilers and their lack of stability between the pipes. The fans and media have spilled much ink talking about it and now Oilers management, including general manager Stan Bowman has made the much anticipated move.
The trade that is gaining much less traction is the second move the Oilers made, acquiring defenceman Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 third round draft pick. His acquisition was to replace the loss of defenceman Kulak.
Stastney could be an upgrade from Kulak
The soon-to-be 26 year old has played the role of a depth defender for the past few seasons for the Predators. He has played 81 total games in his NHL career, making his debut during the 2022-23 season and has already surpassed his previous career high of 23 games in a season, having played 30 this year.
He also comes at a greatly reduced cap hit with an $825,000 annual average value compared to Kulak who costed nearly $2.75 million. Also the former is a restricted free agent at the end of the seasons, guaranteeing some team control while the latter was set to become an unrestricted free agent (puckpedia.com).
One of the first differences in Stastney and Kulak that immediately jumps out is their production. This season, Statsney has scored one goal and eight assists for nine points while Kulak has two assists in 31 games. His ability to push offence is a noticeable difference and is something that should help the Oilers a lot.
Stastney could be a hidden gem
Given the small sample size thus far in Stastney's career, it is hard to project how well he will perform with the Oilers but there are a few good signs. His underlying analytics show him to be a positive influence on the Predators, driving positive shot attempts and expected goals (naturalstattrick.com)
That and with his history of scoring at the NCAA and AHL level and so far at the NHL level, he could provide an offensive boost on the backend. He likely will not be challenging Evan Bouchard as the top unit powerplay quarterback but if he can drive positive results at 5-on-5, he will be a welcomed addition.
The age and contract alone add a level of flexibility to the Oilers and afford the club the opportunity to keep a cost-controlled asset around, something that opens up cap room for them to make bigger adds this season and beyond.