Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz has not been shy about his desire to get defenseman Spencer Stastney more NHL minutes.
The problem, however, is the Predators have had a logjam on the blue line, and the defensemen they already have on their NHL roster have had a difficult time getting into the lineup regularly.
But now that Dante Fabbro will miss 2-3 weeks with an upper-body injury, Trotz knew exactly where to go to fill his spot, recalling Stastney from the Milwaukee Admirals on Tuesday in one of the four post-trade deadline call ups each NHL team is allowed.
Through 44 AHL games, Stastney has five goals and 20 points, and his +27 rating is the second-highest plus/minus on the Admirals.
He made nine appearances with the Predators from Nov. 18 to Dec. 7; they were 8-1 in those games. Stastney averaged16:01 of ice time per game and tallied one goal — a game-winner against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 24.
SPENCER STASTNEY FIRST NHL GOAL#MILhockey #Preds pic.twitter.com/hVhSV33UER
— Milwaukee Admirals (@mkeadmirals) November 24, 2023
During his brief NHL stint, Stastney led the Predators in on-ice goals percentage (80) and ranked second on the team in shots blocked per 60 (6.6) and penalties drawn per 60 (0.83). In fact, the 24-year-old was so impressive, Trotz shopped three defensemen ahead of the March 8 trade deadline because he had Stastney waiting in the wings.
And Trotz wasn’t the only member of the Predators brain trust who he made a strong impression on.
“I love [Stastney’s] mobility,” head coach Andrew Brunette said of Stastney in November. “I think the way he can break a puck out by himself and his skating ability is elite. He’s been a fun guy to watch develop here a little bit.”
During Stastney’s previous call up, he spent the majority of his minutes playing with Tyson Barrie (53:03). Of course, the Predators could slot him into Fabbro’s spot on the top pairing with Roman Josi, who Stastney played the second-most amount of time with (8:33).
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