Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Troy Strecher is set to hit free agency, barring unforeseen changes as the team looks to potentially move in a different direction.
Troy Stretcher made it clear he wanted to stay saying that he hopes to be back but with the blue line getting crowded, it now looks like he's headed for free agency per Nick Alberga:
Things can change between now and July 1, but as things stand, it appears Troy Stecher is headed to the open market.
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Strecher was a mid-season waiver wire pickup and one of the last player additions of the Brad Treliving era in Toronto.
He is someone who's not great offensively but does have some speed to his game, and he can carry the puck on his stick without it being a grenade. Combined with his defensive abilities though, it still leaves a lot to be desired.
That said, he is on a low cap hit, is someone fans tend to enjoy, and has said he would like to stick around given he loves Toronto
Troy Strecher made it clear he wanted to return, but no deal has come
Last year was not pretty for the Toronto Maple Leafs defence core, and Strecher was a part of that, even though he was a mid-season pickup. While he is a serviceable depth defenseman, it makes sense that new general manager John Chayka would want to move on.
The British Columbia native put up 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 58 games as a Toronto Maple Leaf last season, but he also played more minutes because of injuries and shut-downs that occurred towards the end of the season.
And while his numbers might actually sound decent for a depth defenseman, it is the lack of the game elsewhere, while putting up limited scoring in sheltered minutes, that probably shows why no deal has come from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The recently turned 32-year-old is probably looking for his last major payday if there is one available, and as someone who has bounced around the league quite a bit, finding somewhere to settle down for a bit is probably what he wants.
It also makes sense as to why John Chayka and company have not offered him a contract; they have to overhaul and improve the roster and have already set about doing that. Bringing back someone with little to no value also does not give you an improvement when one is needed.
The same way they traded away Simon Benoit and Joesph Woll in recent weeks and one could see the acquisition of Emil Andrae as the younger replacement for Stecher in the lineup.
The Raddysh signing crowded the right side, and now a Vancouver homecoming looms
Strecher is a Richmond B.C. native and played in Vancouver the first four years of his career, where he saw the most success numbers wise in his game.
A reunion sort of makes sense, they need depth and to fill out the roster while continuing the rebuild they commited to last offseason, he would be an excellent buy low candidate for a team that just needs to fill out roster spots and can maybe give you some trade value at the deadline over the next two seasons.
Stecher is also a right-shot defenseman and you can never have too many of those in the NHL, and with the most recent signing of Darren Raddysh for the Toronto Maple Leafs, his seat has sort of been taken because when Chris Tanev is back next season, he will also fill out on the right side.
But being a right shot defensman has value in this league, and someone like Vancouver, who can afford to give him a roster spot and boost his value is actually something that would make sense if the two sides agreed to a reunion.
But as it presently sits, it looks like Strecher is being squeezed out by the Raddysh sign and trade that occured earlier this week.
With Strecher having some offensive capabilities to him, you could potentially see him on another team outside of Toronto or Vancouver, like if someone deals with injuries, or they need a third-pair right-shot defenseman.
Where will Maple Leafs defenseman Troy Stecher play next season?
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