Troy Stecher was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Edmonton Oilers on November 15 and played 58 games, recording three goals and 14 assists. His 14 points were his best total since the 2019-20 season with the Vancouver Canucks. Stecher emphasized a tenacious, high-compete style and said he takes pride in bringing that approach to every team. During a December 7-5 win over the Ottawa Senators, his emotion stood out after a scrum that included an incident after the final buzzer. The Maple Leafs finished 32-36-14 and made major organizational changes, including firing Brad Treliving and relieving Craig Berube, and Stecher said more responsibility exists beyond one coach.
""That's just who I am, and what I pride myself on as an individual player. It's what I feel I've tried to bring to every team I've been on, no matter the level," Stecher said. "Looking at both my North Dakota and pro career, I'm probably not the prototypical undersized defenceman. I don't put up a lot of points, so I pride myself on playing with a lot of compete, pride, and tenacity.""
"Originally claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on November 15, Stecher ended up skating in 58 games with the Maple Leafs and registered three goals and 14 assists. The 32-year-old's 14 points was the best mark since the 2019-20 season when he totalled 17 as a member of the Vancouver Canucks."
"It was during a December contest against the Ottawa Senators, in which the Maple Leafs prevailed with a 7-5 victory, that Stecher's emotion shone through. Following a scrum-filled contest, including one after the final buzzer, which Stecher was a part of, the defenceman fired up the crowd as everything boiled over, a nice touch on what felt like an emotionless year."
"The Maple Leafs ended the regular season with a 32-36-14 record, good for last place in the Atlantic Division, which ultimately led to massive changes throughout the organization. Treliving was fired on March 30, and Berube was relieved of his duties on May 13. While much of the blame was placed on Berube this season, Stecher backed his former head coach and stated there is much more to go around."
Read at TheLeafsNation
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