TORONTO — Within hours of getting scooped off waivers by the increasingly desperate and depleted Toronto Maple Leafs, Troy Stecher flew to Chicago in a rush.
Hope he was wearing a cape.
Though the right-shot defenceman had no chance of making it to United Center before the puck dropped on Toronto’s fifth consecutive loss, everyone saw value in Stecher’s being able to have dinner and break ice with his new teammates, who opted for a team-bonding event in the Windy City instead of the typical post-game charter home.
“It was unfortunate they couldn’t get the win that night. It would’ve been probably a little more upbeat. But it’s nice. Anytime you can have time with your teammates away from the rink, especially on the road, it’s a lot easier — and it’s not very often you stay over in a city,” Stecher said Monday, after leading the post-practice stretch.
“A good opportunity for me to come in and meet the guys on different terms, instead of walking into a dressing room kind of on eggshells.”
Stecher — who will debut Tuesday (Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT) against the struggling St. Louis Blues — isn’t tiptoeing around his seventh NHL club. But that doesn’t mean the Maple Leafs aren’t fragile after fumbling their way to the longest active losing skid in the league and learning of more bad news on the injury front.
Coach Craig Berube commented on the “low energy” of his players at practice and could be heard barking at the skaters to bust their, uh, butts.
Following the downbeat skate, Berube revealed that the absent Nicolas Roy is sidelined with an upper-body injury and that captain Auston Matthews (lower body) has yet to skate since Tuesday’s injury.
Tumbling down the standings, the Maple Leafs are now missing two of their top four defencemen (Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo), their No. 1 goalie (Anthony Stolarz, who hasn’t practised since Tuesday either), and three of their top four centres. (This after terminating the contract of reliable depth centre David Kämpf last week.)
The club remains vague with timelines for return of their wounded.
In the spirit of next man up, 23-year-old Marlies centre Jacob Quillan gets a shot Tuesday after piling 14 points in 14 AHL games.
Berube believes Quillan, like Stecher, will inject his lineup with good feet and hard compete.
If the Leafs are beginning to feel like their backs are against a wall here, well, Stecher’s mindset is in alignment.
“Seeing the team and how competitive they are and where they are on the standings, I knew it would be a motivated group I would be joining,” Stecher said. “Kind of goes hand in hand with the way I play. I play with a lot of motivation and bit of a chip on my shoulder.”
Listed at 5-foot-10, Stecher is the rare undersized defender who has dawged his way to a 566-game, 10-year career and a Stanley Cup Final.
That stems from “just being told no my whole life, being a smaller guy,” the 31-year-old explained.
“Try to prove people wrong and, more than anything, just prove myself right.”
Favouring younger defencemen Ty Emberson and Alec Regula, both 25, the Edmonton Oilers nudged Stecher aside.
“That’s the way the business works. Like, I was on the other side of it when I came in the league. You kind of push some older guys out. So, wish them well. But I don’t think it necessarily had anything to do with being a poor player,” said Stecher, who spoke positively of his Alberta days.
“A lot of fond memories of going to battle with a lot of those guys in that room. Just the fan support around Edmonton was incredible. And I feel very fortunate to still be in Canada and Toronto — and having that same (support), if not more, here.”
Stecher’s confidence hit a low in 2024, when he was dealt at the deadline from Arizona to help the surging Oilers, only to miss all four playoff rounds due to an ankle cyst that required surgical removal.
He re-signed in Edmonton and suited up for eight games in the Oil’s return to the final last spring.
“It’s the best hockey you’ll find. So, it’s something I’ll look back on when my career is all over and be thankful I got to experience,” Stecher said.
“But in saying that, I still feel like I got a lot of game left to myself, and I hope to win the Stanley Cup at some point. And that starts here in Toronto.”
The Leafs extol the virtues of Stecher’s first pass, his character and competitive nature.
But the pickup is an indictment of fellow righty Philippe Myers, who signed a two-year, one-way contact extension in January and will be scratched upon Stecher’s arrival.
Berube figures Myers’ extra usage has contributed to his dash-seven rating, lowest among the team’s defencemen.
“Probably got overextended this year a little bit with the injuries. But he definitely hasn’t played the way he played last year,” Berube said. “He just needs to get his game back in order a little bit. Because he’s capable of doing it. We saw it. But it’s just been a little bit of a long stretch here for him.”
The whole first quarter of this season has felt unusually long in these parts.
An impressive showing by Quillan and Stecher in Tuesday’s double debut — and a skid-snapping win against the equally troubled Blues — would go a long way to turn the mood.
“I mean, we’re losing, but I think we’re feeling positive. Trending, hopefully, in the right direction,” said William Nylander, wearing a shirt. “I mean, this keeps going for another month, it’ll be a different mood.”
One-Timers: Laughton was a full participant in practice for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury from a hard Nikita Zadorov hit on Nov. 8…. Carlo (lower body) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 13…. Jake Neighbours (leg) will travel with the Blues but is doubtful to play in Toronto…. New Canuck David Kämpf penned a farewell letter to Leafs Nation, which he posted on Instagram. “It’s been a pleasure Toronto,” he began. “A great chapter of my life but the time has come to move on. I gave everything I had to this organization and city and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity I got here…”
Maple Leafs projected lineup Tuesday vs. St. Louis Blues
Robertson – Tavares – Nylander
Knies – Domi – Cowan
Maccelli – Quillan – McMann
Joshua – Lorentz – Järnkrok
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – McCabe
Mermis – Stecher
Woll starts
Hildeby
