Why Maple Leafs claimed Troy Stecher from Oilers

CHICAGO — The Troy Stecher claim is what happens when Brad Trelving’s desire for lefty-righty balance meets the executive’s loyalty to the guys he knows.

Having tumbled down the standings and up the waiver priority list, the Toronto Maple Leafs snatched right-shot defenceman Troy Stecher off the wire from the Edmonton Oilers Saturday afternoon.

(Ironically, the Oiler turned Leaf only to clear roster space for Leaf-turned-Oiler Zach Hyman, who makes his return from injury Saturday in Carolina.)

The veteran Stecher, 31, is unlikely to be the solution for Toronto’s puck-moving woes on the back end. He didn’t register a point and had just three shots to go with his four penalties in his six games with the Oil this season. He hasn’t hit double digits in points with one team since 2020-21 with Detroit.

But with the Leafs deploying five lefties in Thursday’s overtime loss to L.A. and coach Craig Berube desperate for more balance, Stecher curves his stick the ideal way.

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Toronto’s best righty, Chris Tanev, suffered a second head/neck injury the night he returned from a concussion protocol in Philadelphia. That was two weeks ago, and there is still no timeline for Tanev’s return. His skating has been limited to solo work.

The next righty up, Philippe Myers, has struggled in his nine games, going pointless and minus-5 while taking three penalties. He got replaced by lefty Dakota Mermis this week, and the next best option in the Marlies, Henry Thrun, is also left-handed.

The Stecher pickup is an indictment on the play of Myers specifically and the Leafs’ defence generally. (The team ranks 32nd in goals allowed per game.)

Sure, Treliving would love to get his mitts on, say, Rasmus Andersson out of Calgary, but a move like that appears out of his price range.

So, the executive continues to seek short-term solutions via the waivers. It’s where he found goalie Cayden Primeau and forward Sammy Blais as well.

Stecher, a native of Richmond, B.C., is a bit of a unicorn.

How many undrafted, third-pairing guys can carve out a 566-game NHL career when they are neither big (he’s 5-foot-10, 184 pounds) nor produce points?

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Set to join his seventh team — and fourth Canadian one — Stecher is a big-league survivor who treats his entire career like a 50/50 battle for a loose puck in a corner.

And he’s a purebred competitor, which is why Treliving enjoyed his stint in Calgary and why he has a chance to earn Berube’s trust in limited minutes.

“People have a predetermined opinion on what I am, and that’s fine. At the end of the day, I know what I bring,” Stecher told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector when he first showed up in Edmonton.

“That’s a player who provides energy for a team, winning battles that I probably shouldn’t. I think I have good feet, and I break the puck out. Can move the puck well.”

The Maple Leafs are desperate for precisely those two elements.

If Stecher can indeed win battles and move the puck, he’ll keep this job.

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