Filip Hallander might be heading from one star forward-loaded NHL franchise to another, but the Edmonton Oilers are facing more than just the risk of one getting lost in the woods.
Even though the Oilers have a recent history of completing trades with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hallander's former team, the Penguins also have a recent history of winning transactions.
Essentially speaking, it's the Oilers and Filip Hallander vs Kyle Dubas, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the former's ability to successfully pull off reclamation projects.
Let's start with the Penguins
To discuss the idea of reclamation projects, look no further than ex-Columbus Blue Jacket Egor Chinakhov. After a slow start to the 2025-26 season saw him record just six points in 29 games, the Blue Jackets dealt him to the Penguins for forward Danton Heinen. Following the trade, Chinakhov recorded 36 points in 43 games played while appearing in all six of Pittsburgh's playoff games against the Philadelphia Flyers. That performance with the Penguins came just a few years removed from a 2023-24 campaign that saw him record 29 points in 53 games.
Elsewhere, Dubas is hoping that an offseason trade to acquire Nick Robertson from the Toronto Maple Leafs pans out in his favor. Dubas selected Robertson in the 2019 NHL Draft while he was the Leafs' general manager; the ex-Peterborough Pete has scored in three of his first four games as a Penguin.
The two cases are only one of many instances that have seen Dubas take a chance on a player for a low cost of acquisition. Given that many of them have succeeded, it's not unfair to assume that Dubas can achieve the same thing with Spencer Stastney, who was the player acquired by the Penguins in exchange for Hallander.
What are the Oilers giving up in Stastney?
While the fact that five defensemen (at least) sat above Spencer Stastney in the Oilers' depth chart, he is nonetheless capable of being a depth option on a team looking to complete a bottom-four pairing. Even though his shooting metrics only put him in the middle-tiers of all players in that regard, his skating speed is within the top 16% of all skaters. That makes him an option when it comes to matching up against some of the league's faster and more potent offenses.
Even then, Stastney was stuck in a defensive logjam that started at Rogers Place and ran all the way through Bakersfield. There was no way the Oilers were going to give up any of their top-four defensemen, Shakir Mukhamadullin was likely not going to be used an asset after previously being traded for Darnell Nurse, and trading Stastney's contract gave the Oilers more of an opportunity to remain cap-compliant than if they dealt, say, Ty Emberson and his contract or that of a non-roster defenseman.
So why the issue with Hallander?
It's not that Hallander doesn't have any potential.
Rather, as stated above, it's a case of more of the same. But instead of being stuck behind Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and others, Hallander is immediately getting placed below two lines worth of forwards. And with depth forwards like Owen Michaels enjoying strong starts and others like Jason Dickinson only recently getting added to the lineup, Hallander is going to have to prove to Mike Babcock and Co. that he isn't just a short-term replacement.
Given that Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are next in line to return from injury, that is going to be way easier said than done.
It's also worth noting that what the Penguins are going through with their roster situation is quite similar to that of Edmonton, though the positions are reversed to some degree.
The team currently has 13 forwards on their nightly line-up, a number that includes non-roster/injured reserve forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Justin Brazeau. On top of that, 24 total forwards sat alongside Hallander with a chance to work their way into the starting lineup.
At the same time, prior to Stastney's arrival, the Penguins really only had three defensive lines to work with. Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are the undisputed leaders in that room, Sam Girard and Trevor van Riemsdyk are the next two up, and behind them are three as-old-and-relatively-experienced options in Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile, and Ilya Solovyov. With Ryan Graves out due to injury, Statsney gives the Penguins the chance to build an extra defensive pairing, though it's likely he still ends up on a bottom-four pairing to fill a depth role.
Even then, it's not that hard to argue that Stastney's position in the Penguins' defensive core will be a little more certain than it would be in Edmonton.
Back to Hallander, he'll be looking at a bottom-six depth role at best with the potential to fill a bigger role in case of injury or downturns in form for a middle-six option.
But with Dickinson back and others on the way, Hallander doesn't have much time to prove he's the Oilers' next big-name forward.
Who wins this trade?
As of right now, I'd have to say Pittsburgh.
Even though Stastney gets more of an opportunity to earn NHL minutes and the Oilers get to bring themselves closer to the cap limit, we know that Dubas has found a way to consistently get on the winning end of trades. It might seem like Stastney is being moved to help the Oilers address their lengthy injury list and hold the fort until Hyman or Nugent-Hopkins gets back, but we can't argue that the Penguins don't have their own vision when it comes to this trade.
Obviously, we have to see how things pan out going forward. If Hallander can put some points together and additional opportunities crop up for the ex-Penguin, then this might be more of a win-win for both teams. If the above happens and Stastney struggles and can't work his way up the Pittsburgh lineup, then Edmonton wins the trade. But if Stastney gets regular minutes, puts more points together, and Hallander ends up in an AHL system, then the Penguins truly win the trade.
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