Penguins Trade Filip Hallander to Oilers for Defenseman Spencer Stastney

The Pittsburgh Penguins cleared a roster logjam at forward on Wednesday, trading Filip Hallander to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Spencer Stastney in a one-for-one depth deal.

Hallander, 26, had started the season brightly for Pittsburgh, posting a goal and two assists in the opener and three points through his first two games. Over parts of four seasons with the Penguins he appeared in 18 games with two goals and five assists. His comeback had been one of the feel-good stories of the early season after a blood-clot issue sidelined him last November; he returned to Sweden for two productive seasons with Timrå before re-signing with Pittsburgh in April 2025.

The move had a curious symmetry for general manager Kyle Dubas, who acquired Hallander from Toronto in 2020 in the Kasperi Kapanen deal, traded him back to Pittsburgh for Jared McCann a year later, and has now shipped him out again. Assistant general manager Jason Spezza told beat writers that forward depth made Hallander "expendable," with Pittsburgh also activating Bryan Rust on Wednesday.

Coming back the other way is Stastney, a 26-year-old left-shot defenseman who was a healthy scratch for Edmonton's first three games. He has four goals and 15 assists in 117 career NHL games and gives Pittsburgh blue-line depth on either side. Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said Edmonton had tracked Hallander's offensive game in Sweden and saved more than $650,000 in cap space with the swap. Hallander is expected to join the Oilers in San Jose on Thursday.