The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Troy Stecher to a one-year contract, Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal reported Saturday afternoon.
Stecher, 29, split the 2022–23 season between the Coyotes and the Calgary Flames, collecting three goals and 14 points while averaging 16:22 in 81 games.
The Coyotes had previously also signed Stecher to a one-year, $1.25 million contract in the summer of 2022. His new deal with the Coyotes carries a $1.1 million cap hit.
Stecher racked up seven assists in 61 games with the Coyotes before being traded to Calgary alongside forward Nick Ritchie in exchange for defenseman Connor Mackey and forward Brett Ritchie.
The five-foot-ten defender, who shoots right, went on to score three goals and seven points in 20 games with the Flames down the stretch.
The Vancouver Canucks originally signed Stecher — a product of Richmond, B.C. — as an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota in 2016.
Stecher spent four full seasons with his hometown Canucks before signing a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent in 2020. The Red Wings traded him to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2022 trade deadline.
Through 440 games over parts of seven seasons with the Canucks, Red Wings, Kings, Coyotes, and Flames, Stecher has collected 18 goals and 103 points. He’s added four goals and seven points in 21 playoff contests with Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Stecher will now compete for ice time as part of a revamped Coyotes defensive group that also includes Sean Durzi, J.J. Moser, Juuso Valimaki, Victor Soderstrom, and Josh Brown. The Coyotes also signed forward Jason Zucker to a one-year contract on Saturday.
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