The Oilers should be getting some help on the injury front over the next couple of weeks with Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark, and Alec Regula all potentially returning. That means a roster crunch will soon be coming and when Hyman comes off LTIR, they’ll have to get back to a cap-compliant roster, meaning moves will have to be made as they’re nearly $2.8MM over the cap ceiling, per PuckPedia.
It appears that one of the possibilities to be dealt is defenseman Troy Stecher. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that there appears to be some interest in the veteran blueliner while Edmonton is open to finding him a soft landing where he’d have a chance to stay on an NHL roster.
The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers and has been in and out of the lineup in the early going this season. Stecher has made six appearances so far in 2025-26 and has been held off the scoresheet while picking up three blocked shots in a little under 14 minutes a night of playing time.
Over his career, Stecher has played in 566 games over parts of ten seasons, generally playing on the third pairing. He has 22 goals and 95 assists in those appearances along with 629 blocks and 562 hits in 17:29 per game of ice time. At this stage of his career, he might be better off in more of a sixth or seventh role where his minutes would be a bit more limited but after playing 66 games in 2024-25, he can still be a regular when called upon.
Stecher is in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $787.5K cap charge and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Given their looming roster crunch, Edmonton likely won’t be able to command a significant return if they decide to move Stecher and not a different defender but even if it’s a late-round pick in return, it would be an asset for a player they’d otherwise be likely to lose on waivers when their injured players return.