With Dante Fabbro Out A While, Predators Turn To Spencer Stastney

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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