Sharks Trade Pitch Lands Oilers’ Spencer Stastney – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

Both the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks will be looking to make it into the playoffs this season following aggressive offseasons. They both did exactly what they needed to do. For the Oilers, that was replacing Darnell Nurse and strengthening their goaltending depth. For the Sharks, that was adding veteran defensemen and bringing in some scoring depth.

While both teams seem pretty set in stone heading into the 2026-27 season, they both still have some room to make additions if they want to. While the Oilers aren’t expected to make any more additions before the start of the season, the Sharks could afford to add another depth defender, which is where the Oilers come in.

Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Connor Murphy, Ryan Shea, Shakir Mukhamadullin, and Ty Emberson round out who will likely start the season with the Oilers on the blue line, leaving out Spencer Stastney and making him expendable.

If the Sharks are looking to add a bottom-pairing defender, likely to compete with Luca Cagnoni on a nightly basis, Stastney is a cost-effective player who could bring some value to them and wouldn’t break the bank in a trade return.

In this article, we take a quick look at a mock trade sending Stastney to the Sharks. While it seems inevitable that the Oilers have to trade a defenseman, there are no reports connecting these two teams to each other, or indicating that Stastney is the one that will be moved.

This is simply a hypothetical move, that makes sense.

Sharks Add Defensive Depth, Oilers Receive Draft Pick

Stastney, who is 26 years old, played 66 games between the Oilers and Nashville Predators last season, scoring two goals and adding eight assists for 10 points. Through 117 career games, he has scored four goals and added 15 assists for 19 points.

He has a $1,525,000 cap hit for the 2026-27 season after signing a new deal with the Oilers, and is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the conclusion of the deal.

The Sharks have the cap space to add Stastney, and considering they would likely prefer to run a roster that includes seven defensemen, adding him gives them some strengthened depth on their blue line.

The Oilers likely wouldn’t be looking for much in return, considering the alternative would be risking losing Stastney on waivers for nothing, but getting a mid-round draft pick in return would benefit them, considering their lack of draft capital in the 2027 NHL Draft.

A deal between the two teams likely looks like this:

• Sharks Receive: D Spencer Stastney
• Oilers Receive: Sharks’ 2027 fourth-round pick

The Oilers had traded a third-round pick to the Predators to acquire Stastney last season, so essentially, they will have moved back one round in exchange for a rental depth addition, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.

For the Sharks, they add a defenseman with experience who could earn a role on their bottom pairing and could finally break out. He is on a solid contract, is young, and is a low-risk, high-reward addition that stabilizes their blue line.

The Oilers will have a tough decision to make with their defensemen when the season gets going, considering they have multiple defenders who could play in the NHL and are waiver-eligible. So, unfortunately, Stastney could end up being the odd one out, and the Sharks make sense as a potential fit.

As the 2026-27 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.