Troy Stecher is motivated, plans to bring a chip on his shoulder to the Maple Leafs

“I was excited,” Stecher said when asked about his reaction to the claim. “Obviously excited for a fresh start, seeing the team and how competitive they are and where they are in the standigs. It kind of goes hand in hand with the way I play, a lot of motivation. “I have a chip on my shoulder and I think the team does as well.”

The Maple Leafs are will be the seventh team Stecher has suited up for in his career, and he points to that as where the chip on his shoulder comes from.

“It’s my tenth year [in the NHL], and it’s my seventh team, so I just want to prove people wrong and more than anything prove myself right. That’s where it comes from internally.”

Stecher isn’t the prototypical Brad Treliving defenceman we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the past two years, standing at just 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, but there are two factors to his game that made general manager Brad Treliving take a shot on him. First of all, he’s right-handed, and second of all, he plays bigger than his size. He’ll go into the corners, he isn’t afraid of getting hit, and he blocked 66 shots in 66 games for the Oilers in 2024-25.

The Maple Leafs have struggled defensively all season, with issues stemming from both the defensive corps and the net. Stecher won’t be much help on offence, but that’s not what they need out of him. His steadiness will help a team that’s now down both Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo.

Matthew Knies drew from Stecher’s tenure in the league so far and talked about the value in having an experienced defensive unit.

“Yeah, it’s good to add that experience,” Knies told reporters after practice. I think our whole D-corps has a lot of experience so to add another player like that, it’s good.  You know, lets the forwards play a little more comfortable knowing you have an experienced D back there to protect you.”

When asked about the team’s struggles, Stecher brushed off the concerns and suggested that it doesn’t take a lot to get back into a groove.

“Every team goes through ebbs and flows, highs and lows during the season,” Stecher said. “You take that as far as individuals. In saying that, sometimes when you’re losing you deserve to win and sometimes when you’re winning you deserve to lose. So, I just think it’s kind of the nature of the way things are going right now, we’re on a bit of a skid, but all it takes is one bounce to get back into the win column.”

The Maple Leafs will host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday in what will likely be Troy Stecher’s debut as they look to snap their losing skid.

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