For all the talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs trading veteran defenseman away this summer, there’s one who needs to come back.
If indeed the Leafs are serious about moving Brandon Carlo and Morgan Rielly, the club will need to maintain some stability in the back end. And that’s where Troy Stecher could be an important piece for the team.
Now, let’s be realistic. Stecher isn’t going to be a top-pairing defenseman, that is, unless the Leafs are seriously rebuilding.
The idea of bringing back Troy Stecher hinges on practicality. He was a solid waiver pickup last season. The Maple Leafs got him when the team needed someone to plug a hole in the blue line. He did just that, while managing to hold on to a spot for the entire season.
The 32-year-old is by no means perfect. But he manages to avoid egregious mistakes, players with a bit of an edge, and can chew up minutes. Plus, he adds a bit of scoring. This season, Stecher scored three goals and 14 points in 58 games for Toronto.
That’s not bad when considering just how tough it was to get scoring from the blue line this season. Considering that Stecher made league minimum this season, the numbers look pretty good.
Maple Leafs Will Be Hard-Pressed to Find Better Depth Option
Yes, the Maple Leafs need more than one high-end defenseman in order to become a solid playoff team this season. But there’s also a clear need for depth. And it’s also very easy to overpay for depth blueliners.
That’s why keeping Stecher could become a fantastic idea. The Maple Leafs will be hard-pressed to find decent depth defenseman at a reasonable price point. Even if Toronto signed Stecher to a two or three-year deal with a cap hit slightly above $1 million, the deal would make sense.
Again, there’s a need for more firepower from the backend. If there’s a chance to sign a free agent like Darren Raddysh to a reasonable contract, then so be it. But the fact is that the Leafs need to focus on rounding out the entire defense corps.
That’s why bringing back Stecher makes plenty of sense.
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Toronto Needs to Be Careful with Cap Situation
For the first time in a long while, the Maple Leafs have plenty of cap space to work with. PuckPedia projects the organization with a little over $22 million in available room to play with.
That much can go a long way towards making the roster more competitive. The issue, however, lies in making savvy use of that space. It’s very easy to tie those $22 million in a couple of contracts, especially by overpaying.
There is a penchant to go big-game hunting. Raddysh is a good example of that. Other veterans out there, like John Carlson or even Rasmus Andersson (should he hit the market), could be major pieces.
But being realistic, the price tag for defensemen like that won’t come cheap. If bringing in someone like Andersson is possible, that would be a major coup. But the organization has to be keen on not burning through its cap space this summer without rounding out the roster.
The last thing the Maple Leafs need at this point is getting into cap trouble.
Maple Leafs Need This Depth Defenseman Back Next Season