{"id":303624,"date":"2026-10-10T06:20:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T06:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/303624\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T06:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T06:20:19","slug":"penguins-plans-for-stastney-solovyov-on-waivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/303624\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Plans for Stastney; Solovyov on Waivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS, OH \u2014 One left-handed defenseman out as another arrives. The Pittsburgh Penguins met Spencer Stastney Friday but waived big D-man Ilya Solovyov<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Stastney made his first appearance with the team Friday at the morning skate in Columbus, where the Penguins<\/a> face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena Friday night. For coach and player, it was more of a get-to-know-you moment, rather than a substantive practice. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a really good skater. I think a lot of his game is driven off of that. I think (he has) really good hockey sense as well,\u201d coach Dan Muse said. \u201cHe puts himself in good spots. You know, I think that leads to\u2013whether it\u2019s in plays, in transition breakouts\u2013the ability to make reads, little subtle reads. So those are all things that we\u2019ve seen in his game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muse has typically held new players out of the lineup<\/a> until they\u2019re settled and acclimated both to the team and the system. However, the Penguins do not have a practice until Monday and are back in game action Tuesday in Chicago. <\/p>\n

So, Stastney\u2019s debut remains a question mark, though assistant general manager Jason Spezza seemed to indicate the Penguins acquired him to be more than press box depth. <\/p>\n

\u201cStastney is a great skating defenseman that is at his best when he is asserting himself defensively and offensively, using his legs, retrieving pucks, and moving pucks into the forwards\u2019 hands,\u201d Spezza wrote to beat writers in an email exchange Wednesday. \u201cStastney adds to our depth as a left-shot defenseman who has experience playing on the left or right side, and he will be competing with our existing defensemen for ice time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stastney, 26, set a career high with 66 games played last season, split between the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers. The 5-foot-10, 183-pound left-handed defenseman spent parts of the previous four seasons as a depth defender in the Nashville organization. <\/p>\n

EDIT: Several player sites now list Stastney at 5-foot-11, 196 pounds. <\/p>\n

After posting one goal and eight assists in 30 games for Nashville, Stastney had only one goal and no assists in 36 games for Edmonton last season. He\u2019s on a one-year, $1.575 million deal. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, in terms of Day One, I told him, this is the first time meeting some of the coaches, first time meeting some of the players, most of the players, and so it\u2019s a new group. I think (the first step) is to get acclimated,\u201d said Muse. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to be in tonight. He\u2019ll just be watching from up top. We gave him a couple of things to look for that might be a little bit different, but you don\u2019t want to overwhelm anybody with too much too soon. I think you want to get just your feet underneath you, get acclimated there with the group, and that\u2019s the priority right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make room for the eventual activation of winger Andrei Kuzmenko<\/a>, the Penguins waived Solovyov, whom they acquired last season from the Colorado Avalanche for Valtteri Puustinen. Solovyov had a strong training camp and preseason, noticeably losing weight, but stumbled in the final preseason game. <\/p>\n

Stastney is coming to the team with a new outlook on the game and life. He recently opened up about mental health struggles. He\u2019s put those in the past, and it might hearten some to know that he found out about the trade while having breakfast with his Edmonton teammates in Anaheim, so he went to Disneyland. After all, he had an afternoon to spare. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, pretty crazy, especially for myself, my fianc\u00e9, our animals back in Edmonton. But you know, it\u2019s exciting. I\u2019m really happy to be here. Got a good skate in,\u201d Stastney said Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s a second trade for me in about a year, so I\u2019m getting used to it, but I\u2019m just really excited to get going with this group. They seem awesome \u2014 coaches, staff, players. I\u2019m just ready to go and happy to help wherever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:Ilya Solovyov<\/a> Penguins Trade<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> spencer stastney<\/a><\/p>\n

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