The Edmonton Oilers probably thought the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs would go differently.
The Oilers followed up a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild with a 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs three nights later. On a night where Edmonton could stick it to their old teammate Troy Stecher, he stuck it to them.
Edmonton has been recently linked to New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, as well as Montreal Canadiens‘ forward Patrik Laine. While both players would give the team an offensive spark, they may need to find it elsewhere in their play. Sadly for the Oilers, Panarin might prefer to go to a different contender.
Additionally, Kasperi Kapanen had some strong words for his team following the brutal loss.
Kasperi Kapanen Shares Blunt Message With Edmonton Oilers
The NHL isn’t an easy league to play in. However, it’s a disservice to yourself when you make costly mistakes that end up in the back of the net. Even more costly when those mistakes pile up into multi-goal deficits.
Kapanen reflected on this pattern for the Oilers during his post-game scrum.
“We can’t be letting in five, six, seven, goals per game. It’s just it’s too much. It’s just not the right way to win,” Kapanen said following the 5-2 loss on February 3, 2026. “I feel like we’re just always trailing by two, three goals. And they’ve scored four or five. As a good team, we can’t be doing that moving forward, and it’s something that we’ve addressed.”
“It doesn’t happen overnight. We’re trying, guys. We’re trying, and we want to be better defensively.”
Defensively, they allowed only 27 shots on goal against the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, two of the five goals they surrendered were on the powerplay. Both of those goals were in the third period and secured the win for the visiting team.
Kris Knoblauch Says Oilers Woes Are ‘A Little Bit of Everything’
Head coach Kris Knoblauch shared a message that should serve as a wake-up call to the spiralling Oilers.
“It’s a little bit of everything. Five-on-five defending. Obviously, the penalty kill, we’ve talked about how many penalty kill goals we’ve given up,” Knoblauch said following the loss to the Maple Leafs. “And some goaltending. It’s a little bit of everything.”
Troy Stecher Has Been Thriving Since Parting Ways With the Oilers
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. However, for the former Oilers defender, it’s been the greenest grass he’s ever seen.
Playing against his old team, he logged 22:35 in ice time, the second most among Maple Leafs’ defenders. Stecher also recorded one shot and one block.
In 38 games with the Maple Leafs, Stecher has 11 points, three goals, 46 shots, and averages a career-high 20:18 of ice time per game. This is a stark contrast to the 13:37 he averaged before being placed on waivers earlier this season.
Before the Oilers game against the Maple Leafs on February 3rd, 2026, Stecher’s new teammate expressed his gratitude for having him on the team.
“Thank God Edmonton let him go,” Joseph Woll said prior to the game.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Although Stecher wasn’t “trash” on the Oilers, he’s certainly been a newfound treasure for the Maple Leafs.
Oilers Get Blunt Message Following Brutal Loss to Maple Leafs