The Edmonton Oilers continue their trade deadline acquisitions, this time bolstering their blue line. They have acquired defenceman Troy Stecher and a 2024 seventh-round pick (Originally Boston Bruins) from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Like many teams in the Western Conference this week, the Oilers are making all sorts of additions, whether to fill holes, upgrade in certain areas, or acquire a player they are interested in.
Oilers Strengthen The Defence
At 29 years old and with one goal and four assists for five points this season, Stecher isn’t going to be a considerable offensive addition to their already capable offensive defensemen like Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. He is a right-hand shot defenceman who can play physical hockey and is a solid depth defenceman. Try him out with Darnell Nurse on the second pair or with Brett Kulak on the bottom pair instead; he will be a guy they can rely on, and use him with different pairings to see who he fits best in different times of need.
Coming in with a cap hit of $1.1 million and no salary was retained, this will be Stecherâs third time being moved during the trade deadline. The Oilers also acquired a second 2024 seventh-round draft pick, which includes this one and the one they received from Anaheim Ducks in the Adam Henrique trade yesterday. They still have their own 2024 second, 2024 fifth, and two 2024 sixth-round picks with a little over $1 million in cap space to make any more moves.
Arizona Continues to Add Draft Capital
For the Arizona Coyotes, this is a typical trade deadline move involving a player they donât see resigning in the offseason and flipping him to a contending team that wants to make a deep playoff push. In return, the team can gain a future draft pick. Playing on the bottom defense pair with Juuso Valimaki, Stecher was solid for a team amid a rebuild and trending water with player development. This can open room for players like Maveric Lamoureux, Victor Soderstrom, or Maksymilian to show their game and grow with the team next season.
This now continues that growing concern, if you will, with the defense situation with Arizona, as they have no defencemen signed going into the offseason. Granted, there will be going in the offseason with little over $40 million in cap space to make room for signings and extensions of players; it’s interesting what the plan is over there with making a competitive blue line for next season. A mix of veteran signings and prospects this offseason, or do we see extensions played out in the following days?