Filip Hallander is joining the Edmonton Oilers after the team traded defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move gives Edmonton another forward while Pittsburgh adds a left-shot defenseman, but the trade did not exactly impress Oilers fans.
Hallander was coming off a strong start to the season with Pittsburgh, while Stastney had yet to play for Edmonton this season. The Oilers announced the trade on X, and the reaction quickly turned to what Edmonton should have done instead.
One user wrote:
“Nothing for nothing. The rumours were a lot better than whatever this is haha.”
Another fan went straight to the team’s goaltending.
“Cool. Can we have a DECENT goalie now?”
Another added:
“Makes no sense, there’s too many cooks in the kitchen on forward already and when Dickinson, Hyman, Nuge and Savoie come back there’s going to be more unneeded players.”
One fan joked about the reason behind the move.
“every october trade in hockey is a gm quietly fixing a mistake he made at the draft table three years ago”
And one question summed up the frustration with Edmonton’s blue line.
“Why do the Oilers hate defense”
Stastney had been on the Oilers’ NHL roster without playing a game this season. The 26-year-old appeared in 66 games between Edmonton and the Nashville Predators last season, finishing with two goals and 10 points while posting a minus-11 rating.
Why the Penguins moved Filip Hallander
Filip Hallander was a player the Pittsburgh Penguins liked, but their crowded forward group made him expendable. The Penguins also needed help on the blue line, which made Spencer Stastney a useful return.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe explained why Hallander ended up being the player Pittsburgh moved.
“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,” Yohe wrote.
Yohe added that Pittsburgh’s need on defense was another reason the trade made sense.
“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.”
Edmonton also liked what Filip Hallander could bring to its forward group. Oilers GM Stan Bowman described the type of player they were getting.
“We like the fact that he’s a worker & he competes. He plays at a high pace, he’s gonna fit in well with the way Mike wants our players to play.”
Filip Hallander’s return to the NHL also came after a difficult 2025-26 season. He played 13 games before a puck strike caused a blood clot in his leg and ended his season.
He started this season with the first three-point game of his NHL career against Philadelphia, scoring once and adding two assists. Filip Hallander played two games for Pittsburgh before the trade, finishing with three points, one hit and one blocked shot while averaging 10:17 per game.
Edited by Sonali Verma