Troy Stecher sends little dig at Edmonton Oilers after joining Maple Leafs
The Edmonton Oilers have been a bit of a tire fire this season, and Troy Stecher sounds relieved to get out of it.
Following two seasons with the Oilers, the 31-year-old veteran defenceman left the organization after the Toronto Maple Leafs claimed him off waivers last weekend. Stecher was struggling to be an everyday player for Edmonton this season and was effectively the team’s eighth defenceman when healthy.
Though he only played in six games with the Oilers this season, he seemed excited to get out of a situation that is quickly getting dicey in Edmonton. TSN’s Mike Johnson described an interesting conversation he had with Stecher after he joined the Leafs.
“I had a little conversation with Troy Stecher this morning just about ‘Hey, you’re walking into the fire a little bit here [in Toronto]’ and he said, ‘I just left the fire [in Edmonton],'” Johnson said. “It’s the exact same in Edmonton [as it is in Toronto].”
"Troy Stecher told me 'he just left the fire.'"@mike_p_johnson and the guys discuss the Oilers' recent average performances.#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/xFPeF0ImaR
— OverDrive (@OverDrive1050) November 18, 2025
Stecher calling the situation in Edmonton on fire may seem like an insult, but he’s not wrong. The Oilers feel like they are in a free fall, and Monday’s embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres has only added fuel to the fire.
It may seem a bit weird to say that as he joins a Maple Leafs team that is also struggling to meet expectations, but it’s all the same. Stecher wasn’t an everyday player in Edmonton, and even he could feel the heat from both the media and the fan base.
The clock is ticking for this Oilers team, as they haven’t secured a regulation win in over three weeks at this point and haven’t had a winning streak of three or more games at all this season. It’s starting to feel like this edition of the Oilers may not be good enough even to make the playoffs at this point.
Stecher’s comments were a dig at the Oilers’ situation, but one that he was absolutely correct about. It’ll be up to Edmonton to make sure that fire doesn’t turn into an explosion over the course of this road trip.