According to reports, free-agent defenceman Troy Stecher signed with the Detroit Red Wings for a two-season $1.7 million contract. This comes as his former team, Vancouver Canucks, did not put a qualifying offer on Stecher by the Wednesday deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.
1.7M per for 2 years.
— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) October 10, 2020
Troy Stecher Signs with Detroit
Stecher spent the first four seasons of his career with the Canucks. Over his 286 games with Vancouver, he notched 11 goals and 64 assists.
Signed right out of his junior season at the University of North Dakota, Stecher was cut early during training camp with the Canucks. However, after three games with its AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, Stecher was called back up.
Last season, he scored a career-high five goals, a plus-10 rating, and tallied 12 assists over his 69 appearances. In terms of possession, he had a 47.3 percent Corsi for. In addition, he added 32 minutes in penalties blocked 70 shots during the 2019-20 season.
Moving Forward
While Stecher was a consistent defenceman for the Canucks, he will most likely take a more leading position with Detroit. As the Red Wings attempt to rebuild its blue line after the departure of six of its defencemen, Stecher will benefit Detroit and will most likely become a central figure on its defence. It is very likely he will take up a prominent role in their special teams alongside Jon Merrill who the Red Wings signed on Friday, Oct. 10 to also bolster the blueline. Just as in the Merrill deal, Detroit General Manager Steve Yzerman has kept the contracts relatively inexpensive and has yet to shell out for any larger deals as he hopes to rebuild his team.
Stecher’s continued growth makes him a perfect fit for a burgeoning Detroit. He has developed over the past season, as well, playing less on average four minutes less on the ice than in his previous seasons but scoring more goals than his previous three seasons with the Canucks. Moreover, his shooting percentage has increased almost three-fold from his first season with Vancouver in 2016-17.
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