Oilers defenceman Troy Stecher officially gets claimed on waivers

The Oilers needed to clear salary and roster space to activate Zach Hyman while returning from injury, which prompted the Oilers to waive Stecher and demote Howard. It's an unfortunate break for the Oilers to lose a quality depth defender.

The Edmonton Oilers acquired Stecher for just a 7th round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes at the 2024 trade deadline, and he served a needed role of veteran depth right away.

The Oilers signed Stecher to a bargain contract for 2 years at a cap hit of $787.5K, and he played a key role all through last season. Planned to be the 7th defender, he got into 66 regular season games and 8 playoff games, and always did his job.

Stecher was simply best out of his roster spot by two younger players with higher ceilings in Alec Regula and Ty Emberson. The latter two have proved themselves at the NHL level, and management is willing to give them the chance over Stecher.

The Oilers did try to seek a trade partner for Stecher to set him up with another NHL opportunity, but such a deal never materialized. Other teams knew the Oilers had to clear a roster spot, so a waiver opportunity would become available.

As a 31 year old defenceman with 566 career games on an affordable contract, there was little chance Stecher would clear waivers.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs struggling blueline, Stecher should get a new opportunity to crack the NHL lineup.