Maple Leafs claim defenceman Troy Stecher on waivers, what it means

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Published Nov 15, 2025  •  Last updated 57 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

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Oilers defenceman Troy Stecher battles for position against new teammate Matthew Knies during a game at Rogers Place in February. Stecher, 31, was claimed on waivers by the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Photo by Leila Devlin /Getty ImagesArticle content

Some veteran help is on the way for the defensively challenged Maple Leafs.

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On Saturday, prior to their game in Chicago, the Leafs claimed blueliner Troy Stecher on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. Stecher is well-known to Toronto general manager Brad Treliving and coach Craig Berube from his five stops in the Western Conference, when he broke in with the Vancouver Canucks in 2016 as a free agent out of the University of North Dakota, via the BCHL Penticton Vees. He was the first player from nearby Richmond B.C., to play for Vancouver.

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The 31-year-old right-shot Stecher fits nicely under the cap at $787,500 US this season and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. Though he met the Leafs in Chicago, Stecher did not play, likely debuting in one of the two home dates next week before a six-game road trip. Brandon Carlo joined fellow defenceman Chris Tanev on the shelf Saturday, listed as day-to-day by Berube with a lower-body issue.

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In another roster move Saturday, Toronto shifted goaltender Anthony Stolarz to the injured reserve list, retroactive to Nov. 11 when he suffered an upper body injury in Boston.

WHAT STECHER’S ARRIVAL MEANS

At 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, Stecher will be the smallest Leafs defenceman, but he’s rugged and has offensive smarts, twice reaching 20-plus points in a full season. Stecher played 66 games in Edmonton last season, the most NHL action he’d seen in years. He was in eight of the Oilers’ playoff matches during their long run to the final, but was used just six times this season.

Toronto entered this weekend with a 3.83 goals-against average, worst in the National Hockey League, partly due to their inability to break out of their own zone cleanly and now beset by injuries. Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis have been inconsistent as replaceents for Tanev, who is day-to-day with an upper body injury from a couple of weeks ago.

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Stecher has 22 goals and 117 points in 566 total NHL games. He’d not played in two weeks for Edmonton and was placed on waivers as the Oilers sought to clear cap and roster space for the return of former Leaf Zach Hyman from a wrist injury.

Though Stolarz is on IR and can’t play until late next week, he is almost recovered from an upper-body injury.

Joseph Woll was expected to start in Chicago and, following Stolarz, Dennis Hildeby and the departed Cayden Primeau, will represent the fourth different goalie Toronto has used before the season’s 20-game mark.

That’s happened only once before to the Leafs in more than a century according to NHLStats — three seasons ago when Woll, Michael Hutchinson, Jack Campbell and Peter Mrazek were all deployed by mid-November.

lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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