The Arizona Coyotes have confirmed that they traded defenseman Troy Stecher and a seventh-round draft pick, originally from the Boston Bruins for the 2024 draft, to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a fourth-round NHL Draft pick. The Coyotes will receive Edmonton’s fourth-round pick in 2027.
Stecher, aged 29, contributed a goal and four assists in 47 games this season for Arizona. This marks his second year with the team. Last season, he played 61 games, recording seven assists and posting a -3 plus-minus rating.
Stecher is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the current season.
As the trade deadline approached on Friday, the Arizona Coyotes had been active, as evidenced by their decision to bench forward Jason Zucker for trade-related reasons on Tuesday.
Zucker, who had an impressive 27 goals and 21 assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, hasn’t replicated that success this season. With nine goals and 16 assists in 51 games, he’s experienced a downturn in performance.
Despite the Coyotes showing signs of improvement for the third consecutive season, a challenging stretch of 14 consecutive losses, the longest such streak in Coyotes history, spanning from late January to the end of February, put general manager Bill Armstrong in a selling mindset.
