NHL Update Oct 7, 2026: Oilers Trade Stastney; Flames Call Up Kids
Good evening, Alberta! Both of our clubs made moves over the last 48 hours. The Oilers swung a trade and got a key centre back for tonight's playoff rematch in Anaheim, and the Flames sent two veterans to the farm and called up a pair of 21-year-olds. Here's your Alberta Radio NHL update.
League Roundup
Monday night wrapped up after our last update. Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia 4-1, with Brayden Point, Pontus Holmberg, Ilya Mikheyev and Brandon Hagel scoring. Ottawa won 4-1 in Boston behind two goals from Tim Stützle, Winnipeg edged Pittsburgh 3-2 on a Cole Perfetti winner, and Dallas blanked San Jose 5-0 with five different scorers, including Jamie Benn and Mikko Rantanen.
Tuesday brought a nine-game card. The highlights:
Maple Leafs 5, Predators 4 (OT): Steven Stamkos and Nils Hoglander scored twice each for Nashville, but Auston Matthews won it in overtime.
Rangers 5, Islanders 2: Alexis Lafrenière had a hat trick and Oliver Bjorkstrand added two as New York (4-1-0) moved to the top of the league.
Hurricanes 6, Canadiens 4: Taylor Hall scored twice and Sebastian Aho added a goal in a rematch of last spring's Eastern Conference Final. Zachary Bolduc had two for Montreal.
Red Wings 5, Senators 3: Alex DeBrincat scored twice, a night after Ottawa's win in Boston.
Golden Knights 6, Kraken 2: Victor Olofsson and Tomas Hertl scored twice each, and Jack Eichel chipped in.
Panthers 2, Kings 1: Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner, and the Kings are still looking for their first win.
Elsewhere, Utah won 5-3 in New Jersey, Buffalo beat Minnesota 3-2 on an Owen Power overtime goal, and Chicago beat St. Louis 4-2.
As this update went live, Pittsburgh and Washington were tied 1-1 and Colorado and Winnipeg were scoreless early in Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. MT games.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers (2-0-1) made their trade on Wednesday, though it wasn't the big centre deal the rumour mill was chasing. General manager Stan Bowman sent defenceman Spencer Stastney to Pittsburgh for forward Filip Hallander, a 26-year-old, six-foot-two Swedish centre with a goal and two assists in two games for the Penguins this season. He's on an $850,000 deal in the final year of his contract. Stastney, who hadn't played yet this season, had a $1.525-million cap hit, so Edmonton also freed up a little cap room.
"We've been interested in his game for a while," Bowman told Sportsnet. "... We like the fact that he's a worker and he competes. He plays at a high pace. I think he's going to fit in well with the way that Mike wants our players to play."
Hallander missed most of last season with a blood clot in his leg, and Bowman said the medical reports show it has cleared up. According to Sportsnet, he'll join the team in San Jose on Thursday.
The other big news is that Jason Dickinson is back. The Oilers activated him off injured reserve Wednesday and put Colton Dach on IR. Dickinson makes his season debut tonight, centring Trent Frederic and Kasperi Kapanen.
"He's a real intelligent, useful player for us," head coach Mike Babcock said. "When you look at our top six, he really gives us a different complexion."
Babcock is keeping Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together on the top line with Vasily Podkolzin, and Devon Levi gets the start in goal. The offence has been flowing through the back end as well: Evan Bouchard has four goals and eight points in three games, second on the team behind McDavid's nine points.
Kapanen, Edmonton's best player in last spring's six-game first-round loss to Anaheim, doesn't want another track meet. "Last year was just run-and-gun for both teams," he said. "That's not the game that we want to get into tonight." Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are still out.
Calgary Flames
The Flames (0-3-0) followed through on Monday's message. Connor Zary and Brayden Pachal both cleared waivers at noon Tuesday and were assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers.
"Our hope is really that both guys, Connor, as well as Brayden, are going to go down and play a lot and they're going to be able to be brought up again at some point," head coach Ryan Huska told the Calgary Herald. "We're happy they're still in the organization, for sure." Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Zary going unclaimed was contract-related and that "we will see if a trade can be worked out," so his future in Calgary is still up in the air.
On Wednesday, Calgary filled those spots with two young forwards from the Wranglers. Aydar Suniev, a 2023 third-round pick, has one assist in seven career NHL games. Jonathan Castagna, who came over from Utah in the MacKenzie Weegar trade, opened his pro career with two goals in two AHL games and could make his NHL debut Thursday. The Toronto native led Cornell in scoring last season with 34 points in 34 games.
The Flames have scored just three goals in three games, so they need a spark. Colorado comes to the Saddledome Thursday on the second night of a back-to-back after tonight's game in Winnipeg.
What's Next
Tonight, 8 p.m. MT: Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks (Levi in goal, Dickinson's debut)
Thu. Oct. 8, 5 p.m. MT: Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes
Thu. Oct. 8, 7 p.m. MT: Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
Thu. Oct. 8, 8 p.m. MT: Toronto Maple Leafs at Vegas Golden Knights
Sat. Oct. 10, 2 p.m. MT: Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks (Jarry expected in goal)
Sat. Oct. 10, 8 p.m. MT: Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames
Stay tuned to Alberta Radio for full coverage of the Oilers' California trip and the Flames' homestand. Go Oilers, go Flames!
Sources: NHL.com scoreboard, standings and projected lineups; EdmontonOilers.com; CalgaryFlames.com; Sportsnet; TSN; Calgary Herald; ESPN/Associated Press; FlamesNation. Wednesday scores were in progress as of about 6 p.m. MT.
