Oilers 2025-26 Report Cards: Spencer Stastney

As the offseason rolls on, so do the Edmonton Oilers’ player grades. The last report card graded Matt Savoie, and now we turn our attention to defenceman Spencer Stastney.

The Oilers acquired Stastney on Dec. 12 from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 third-round pick. This was a subsequent move after dealing veteran defenceman Brett Kulak and goaltender Stuart Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry. This trade allowed Edmonton to get younger, which was an organizational goal. Let’s take a look at how Stastney fared since joining the Oilers.

2025-26 Performance

Stanley isn’t an offensive defenceman, scoring one goal and zero assists in 36 games with Edmonton. He was also a minus-10, averaging 16:02 per game. He was more offensive in Nashville, recording one goal and nine points in 30 games with a minus-1 rating, averaging 14:52 per game before the trade. He accomplished more on the Predators with less ice time on a worse statistical team.

He’s a mobile defenceman and is not overly physical. He only registered eight hits and averaged 0.83 hits per 60 minutes. He also had just 38 blocked shots while averaging 3.94 blocks per 60 minutes. Out of the 11 defencemen who played for Edmonton this season, Stastney ranked 10th in hits per 60 and ninth in blocks per 60. Since he’s not offensive, he needs to rank higher in those defensive categories. The 26-year-old failed to contribute in other ways.

His underlying numbers were underwhelming. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Oilers had just 48.55 percent of the shots, 37.50 percent of the goals, 41.65 percent of the scoring chances, and 44.89 percent of the high-danger scoring chances. In Nashville, those same stats were all above 50 percent, except for the goals, which were at 46.43 percent, nearly 10 percent higher than in Edmonton. His numbers took a complete nosedive after the trade.

The most noticeable thing about Stasney is his skating. He’s an extremely smooth skater who has elite mobility and quickness. That allows him to retrieve dump-ins effectively and quickly transition the puck up the ice. He seems like a good fit because this team needs defencemen who can make quick decisions and get the puck to the forwards. However, it hasn’t quite clicked yet with his new team.

Stasney Fell Out of the Lineup

Once the Oilers acquired Connor Murphy at the trade deadline, Stastney fell out of the lineup. He became the seventh defenceman and was often in the press box. He hasn’t played since March 19, missing the final 12 regular-season games and all six playoff games. Ty Emberson outplayed him down the stretch.

He’s a pending restricted free agent (RFA), so he needs a new contract. Despite his lack of playing time, Edmonton should still re-sign him on a cheap contract. He’s a serviceable defenceman and can jump in at any moment. Injuries are inevitable, so if he’s the seventh defenceman, the Oilers are in a great spot. The team is extremely thin on the blue line. After Stastney, Alec Regula, Josh Brown, Cam Dineen, and Riley Stillman are next on the depth chart. Therefore, Stasney improves their overall depth. Hopefully, he can push for more playing time in 2026-27.

Overall Grade

Stastney was a mid-season acquisition and didn’t seem comfortable with his new surroundings. He wasn’t noticeably bad, but he wasn’t good either. He was brought in to replace Kulak, but Kulak brought more to the table than Stastney did. Kulak’s toughness and leadership qualities couldn’t be replaced. Stastney had big shoes to fill. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so.

Therefore, he gets a C- for this season. At best, he’s a third-pairing defenceman, and at worst, he is a good seventh defenceman. The organization can’t have enough depth in the system, and that’s what Stastney is. He’s a solid depth piece who won’t move the needle. You need players like him on the team.

What would you grade Stastney? Keep following The Hockey Writers as we continue the Oilers’ player report cards throughout the offseason.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick