Edmonton Oilers testing trade market for Troy Stecher: report
The Edmonton Oilers are set to welcome back several players from injury, which will result in some roster changes over the next week or two.
While some players could be put on waivers, it appears that GM Stan Bowman might look to make a trade instead. Two forwards are set to come back in Zach Hyman and Mattias Janmark, while defenceman Alec Regula is also nearing a return to action.
This has sparked speculation that the team could look to move out one forward and one defenceman to make room on the roster for all to return. Janmark potentially being traded has been speculated, but a new report is putting Troy Stecher at the centre of things.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman name-dropped Stecher as a player the Oilers are actively testing the trade market for on the latest edition of Saturday Headlines.
“They got a lot of players coming back from injury,” Friedman said. “One of the names that’s definitely going around there is Troy Stecher… It doesn’t necessarily have to be Stecher [traded]. I think the Oilers have considered a bunch of things.
“I’ve heard there is some interest, and I think the Oilers are trying to find him a soft landing.”
Stecher is the odd man out when it comes to Edmonton’s defensive group. At this point, it doesn’t even look like he is slotted in as the seventh defender. A fully healthy Oilers D corps looks something like this right now:
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Jake Walman
Brett Kulak – Alec Regula
Ty Emberson
He would need to clear waivers if the Oilers opted to send him to the AHL, but as Friedman mentioned, it appears that the team wants to send him to a place where he can get NHL time.
The 31-year-old is in the final year of a two-year contract with the Oilers, which carries a low cap hit of $787,500. Considering Edmonton needs to clear both a roster spot and some money, any potential trade would probably include draft picks or future considerations coming back to the Oilers.
There is still some time for Bowman to decide on what his plans are to make room for returning players, but he is officially on the clock.
A move of some kind will need to happen in the next week or so.