Troy Stecher Takes Parting Shot at Oilers After Being Claimed Off of Waivers by Maple Leafs
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Troy Stecher appears to fire a parting shot at the Edmonton Oilers after being claimed by the Maple Leafs off of waivers this past weekend.
Some of the pressure has been taken off of the Toronto Maple Leafs after snapping a 5-game losing skid on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues in what also happened to he Troy Stecher's Maple Leafs debut after being claimed off of waivers on Saturday.
The team needs to have a good follow-up performance tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets to buy some good faith with the fan base after a 9-9-2 start, but Leafs bench boss Craig Berube's tone about his team changed considerably this week.
The veteran coach told reporters after Tuesday's win that the vibes were good on the Leafs' bench on Tuesday, so the team certainly looks like they're building some momentum.
For Stecher, who played 13:31 in ice time in his debut, finished as a +1 with one shot on goal and a hit, so he was involved in the victory, which had to feel good.
Stecher may have also fired a bit of a parting shot at his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, when speaking with TSN's Mike Johnson on Tuesday. Johnson told the crew on OverDrive that after a comment about jumping into the fire in Toronto, Stecher told him that he feels like he "just left the fire" in Edmonton.
The Oilers, surprisingly, are in even rougher shape than the Maple Leafs this season, owners of a 9-9-4 record through 22 games, while the Leafs are 9-9-2 after 20 games, giving them 2 games in hand on their Canadian counterpart.
The Leafs have also been very banged up, which has contributed to their troubling record at the quarter mark of the season.
For Stecher, there might be some bad blood in Edmonton as well, after the Oilers dressed him for just 6 games this season, leaving him up in the press box the rest of the time.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Stecher when the Leafs are back at full health on the blueline. Obviously, he'd be in the lineup over someone like Philippe Myers, but he does not seem likely to slot in over someone like Simon Benoit or Oliver Ekman-Larsson once Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev return from injury.
Either way, it looks like Stecher is happy to be out of Edmonton. Perhaps he sees a better opportunity to not only play in Toronto, but to potentially win here as well.
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