One player on the Toronto Maple Leafs is quietly producing at near career-best numbers, has been a major part of some of their victories and surprisingly is on the backend where nobody has been paying attention to him.
We are talking about one of Toronto's biggest surprises this season with Troy Stecher. After nabbing the 32-year-old on a waiver claim from the Edmonton Oilers, Stecher came in late last season and was a jolt to the team's core with his energy and workhorse mentality.
The Richmond, British Columbia native has been one of the Maple Leafs best defensemen this season with the fourth-most blocks on the team at 19, has played the fifth-most minutes this season.
He also has the second-most minutes on the Leafs' elite penalty kill, that ranks second-best in the NHL, and also added some clutch scoring with a late goal versus the New York Rangers on October 22nd, before following it up with yet another goal, two days later versus the Edmonton Oilers with both goals going on the be the game-winners.
TROY STECHER SCORES WITH LESS THAN 30 SECONDS LEFT TO GIVE THE LEAFS THE LEAD 🤯🔥#Leafs pic.twitter.com/rDDTAxSnNd
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 23, 2026
Stecher's 19:46 of average ice-time this season is the third-most average minutes of his career and his five points in 15 games has him on pace to surpass his career-high in points of 24 when debuting with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2016-17 season, now a decade ago.
The biggest plus to Stecher's game however has been his defensive play as he is tied with Easton Cowan for the second-best even strength goal differential on the team at plus-3 with Auston Matthews leading the team at plus-6 through 15 games.
Stecher has been on the ice for 16 goals against this season, 13 of which came at even-strength, the second-best mark of Toronto's top-six defenseman this season, and three of which came while the Leafs were shorthanded so hard to count those against Stecher.
Plus, he has been on for 16 goals for and brings his overall season rating to an even rating, which is still impressive after playing some of the most minutes on the team shorthanded.
Underlying numbers further back his case
His underlying numbers have also been promising with his skating stats all being above average like his 51 speed bursts from 29 to 32 kilometers per hour, which is roughly 15 more than the the league average and ranking in the 73rd percentile. His eight speed bursts from 32 to 35 kilometers per hour also ranks in the 69th percentile and his max speed this season at 34.04 kilometers per hour ranks in the 57th percentile.
His speed has helped him cover some of the most ice in the NHL this season with 64.40 kilometers skated by Stecher this season, which ranks amongst the league's best in the 85th percentile and his 8.73 kilometers skated on the penalty kill is in the 99th percentile.
Stecher has been a clear impact player and if the rest of the Leafs' defense core can get healthy, they can further help support Stecher and can start making strides towards rebounding from their recent skid with 16 goals allowed over the last four games.
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