‘What I hoped for’: Troy Stecher thrilled with new Maple Leafs deal

TORONTO — On that merciful mid-April night in Ottawa, when the tank-a-thon Toronto Maple Leafs dropped Game 82 and extended their losing skid to seven, pending UFA Troy Stecher was asked what he’d be looking for on the open market.

“A job,” the undrafted journeyman smiled.

Kidding not kidding.

“Guy like me, fighting his way off the league-minimum line,” he continued, “I’ve battled to stay in the league.”

Won battle after another.

Stecher keeps sticking in the Show, as his new one-way, two-year commitment from the Maple Leafs ($1.35 million AAV) marks both a tidy raise for the player and a feel-good waiver success story for a franchise he did not wish to leave.

“I know I had my good days, my bad days,” Stecher said that night, which threatened to be his final one repping Toronto, his eighth pro stop. “But one thing I can say is, I never took the city for granted.”

Well, despite a new front office and overhauled coaching staff, the Maple Leafs aren’t taking the depth and desire Stecher brings as a competitive right shot for granted either.

Stecher’s wife, Emma, is a nurse. She has vowed to support Troy, to go with the flow as the 32-year-old continues to chase his NHL dream, wherever that takes a 624-game veteran caught between the third and fourth pair. 

But Stecher stressed in his Maple Leafs exit interviews that he wanted to re-sign. He left the particulars in the hands of his agent, Eustace King, and crossed his fingers… until Monday, two days before his current $788,000 deal was to expire.

“When I got the news, I was obviously excited. It’s what I wanted and what I hoped for. So, I couldn’t be happy to get that across the finish line,” Stecher said Tuesday on a Zoom call.

“I just think that the opportunity that I got to showcase what I can bring was a great opportunity for myself. And it’s kind of what I’ve been hoping for throughout my career in a lot of different places.” 

Former GM Brad Treliving scooped Stecher off the waiver wire midseason when the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline was at a logjam, and the undersized righty made his presence felt instantly on Toronto’s banged-up back end.

Stecher broke the puck out. He never quit on a play, nor shied from contact. He told Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson he’d score against the Panthers, then did just that.

He became a cult favourite, fast. Troy’s Boys. Join the fan club.

Stecher’s confidence grew in concert with his ice time, which averaged 19:49 per night for the 2025-26 Leafs — his most with any team since seven years ago, in Vancouver.

Stecher found himself in and out of the lineup as the season wore on, but he always took accountability.

“I’m not oblivious to the fact that my game slipped a little bit at the end of the season,” he said. “And at the end of the day, there's a lot of work still to do as a player. But I’m also, in a way, a little bit proud.”

With the newly acquired Darren Raddysh and newly healthy Chris Tanev ahead of Stecher on the right side’s depth chart, Stecher should be an even better fit as a depth D-man whose energy and effort are contagious.

And while he won over ex-coach Craig Berube quickly, Troy from Richmond already has multiple connections to new coach Jim Hiller, from Port Alberni, B.C.

“If you go through the history of the league, whenever there’s a coaching change, you usually get a really big spark out of your group,” Stecher said.

“That doesn’t mean anything bad about the past regime. It’s just the way the business goes. There’s new guys in there, and we’re excited for that.”

And for teenage phenom Gavin McKenna.

“Surprised” when the magic 12-ball popped up from the NHL Draft Lottery machine, Stecher says he felt “the same excitement as Kniesy and Willy,” whose reaction to Toronto’s good fortune went viral.

“Everybody in the hockey world loves what (Connor) Bedard, (Macklin) Celebrini and (Matthew) Schaefer have brought the past three years as first-overall picks,” Stecher said.

“So, you would probably expect a lot of the same. He’s gonna be a heckuva player.”

Stecher’s enthusiasm for his new deal, new coach, and new teammates is being channelled into his summer strength and conditioning sessions in Vancouver, led by Ian Gallagher.

“There’s just no complacency. You’re always striving to get better in every aspect,” said Stecher, who has chipped in 14 points in 58 games for the Leafs. 

“The biggest step that I can make would probably be my offensive game, trying to add a bit more offence from the back end. But in saying that, you don’t want to take away from the defensive side of it, and I felt like last year that was something I kind of struggled with at times.

“More than anything, it’s just continuing to work on the fundamentals of your game. Just continue to try to be a good pro and make myself better every day. Overall, if you can add one per cent, then you’re going to have a greater return in the end.”

The return the Maple Leafs receive by betting on Stecher’s character should be worth every penny of their modest $2.7 million for the next two years.

“It’s just a good fit,” Stecher said.

“I’m just glad to be back and to be a Leaf and try to help this team win some hockey games this year.”