Making his Penguins debut was worth the wait for Spencer Stastney

Spencer Stastney waited. Then he waited some more. Plus even more.

Saturday evening, he was outside the home dressing room of PPG Paints Arena, ready to take his headshot as a new member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Donning gym clothing, he was stationed near a gray background illuminated with bright lights, waiting for a photographer to arrive.

Once that photo was snapped, he had to take a few more shots in a jersey along with gloves and other gear. He had to wait as a Penguins media relations staffer dutifully foraged for those items from the dressing room.

He was patient throughout the process.

But what’s a few minutes for a few portraits when you’ve waited a week and a half to simply play a game?

Roughly two hours after having his visage documented, Stastney made this debut for the Penguins — and the season — during a 2-1 shootout win against the Dallas Stars.

Primarily stationed on the left side of the third defensive pairing, the left-handed Stastney logged 12:58 of ice time on 15 shifts and had one shot on one attempt while also blocking a shot.

“It’s great,” Stastney said. “They made it easy on me. And everyone out there was playing a good brand of hockey. It was fun. It was great to be a part of this group and in front of the crowd. It was solid. Nice to get a win.”

It’s also nice to go somewhere where a spot in the lineup is available.

The Penguins acquired the 26-year-old via a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Forward Filip Hallander went to Edmonton in the deal.

Both players require exposure to waivers to be assigned to a minor league affiliate and neither of their incumbent employers wanted to risk losing them for nothing.

Also, each team had a pretty simple motivation in making the swap.

“The Oilers had interest in Filip,” Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza stated in an e-mail to local outlets. “We had interest in Stastney.”

As for Stastney, he was primarily interested in playing his first game of consequence since March 19 as a member of the Oilers.

“I wasn’t in (the lineup) in Edmonton,” Stastney said. “So, it was nice to get the call and play a role here and help (the Penguins) out right now. It’s just having fun. Just trying to make the most of it and try and help these guys win however I can.”

Stastney was a healthy scratch for the Oilers’ first three games of the season. Then, upon being traded, he was a healthy scratch for two contests with the Penguins, including a 5-3 road loss to the Capitals on the day of the trade as he was in transit to join his new employer.

After sitting out a 3-2 shootout road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, he dressed for more than a photo Saturday.

“Huge credit to him, just the way he came in,” coach Dan Muse said. “Even (Friday), just getting acclimated, being around the guys, taking in the information. It’s a pretty quick turnaround to be going right into a game against a really good team and I thought he handled himself really well. You saw it out there against some of their top lines.

“I think the skating really stands out, the sense really stands out. He anticipates really well. He puts himself in really good spots. He uses his skating. Those were the things that we thought for him coming in, and I thought he showed those there (Saturday).”

The past 10 months have been something of a whirlwind for Stastney.

A fifth-round draft pick (No. 131 overall) of the Nashville Predators in 2018, Stastney (5-foot-11, 197 pounds) was dealt by that team to the Oilers on Dec. 12, 2025.

Then, as a restricted free agent, he re-signed with the Oilers, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.525 million.

Barely three months later, he was on the move, joining the Penguins.

“It’s been wild, but I’m getting a taste of NHL hockey,” Stastney said. “That is the reality for a lot of players. Just moving around, trying to find a spot. Just staying positive, working hard and making the most of the opportunities.”

Entering Saturday, Stastney had 117 games of NHL experience on his resume.

It was worth the wait for the 118th.

“I was up and down (between the NHL and AHL) the first three years of my career,” Stastney said. “It’s always a matter of fighting to stay in and try to do my best. So, no matter what, I’m just going to keep a smile on my face, keep working. I’m just happy to be in.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Sunday.