Spencer Stastney

Last Season

One assist — one point in total — in 36 games for Nashville, minus-ten, sixteen minutes a night. That is a thin line however it is read.

The Finesse Game

Skating is the calling card. He moves well in all four directions, which is what has kept him in the conversation despite the size, and he is comfortable escaping pressure with his feet rather than with an outlet pass.

The offense has never translated. He put up points at Notre Dame and in the AHL and has almost none across 117 NHL games, which usually means a player who can beat one forechecker but not a whole structure. He does not shoot much and does not carry the puck into the offensive zone with any authority.

The Physical Game

Six feet and 184 and it shows. He can be overpowered in front of his own net and in board battles against real NHL forwards, and no amount of positioning entirely solves that.

The Intangibles

Four years of call-ups and healthy scratches and short looks. He does the things that keep a player employed — skates well, plays a simple game, does not complain about the role — and has not done the one thing that would make him a regular, which is produce.

He is depth. On most nights that means the press box, and on the nights it does not, he plays a sheltered fifteen minutes and gives you no trouble.