When the Calgary Flames acquired Troy Stecher from the Arizona Coyotes at the trade deadline, there were plenty of fans that knew he would be able to make an impact. Whether he played on the second or third pair, the amount of effort he gave the team and coaches was consistent. General manager Brad Treliving knew what he was getting.
Stecher talked about his time in Arizona last week an interview with Donnie and Dhali – The Team on CHEK, specifically the future of the team and playing in Mullett Arena, saying that he believes it’s a “market that can thrive if the arena gets built.”
But the move to Calgary was really the focus, specifically, how it was adjusting to Darryl Sutter’s “prickly” style. Considering the news he was not returning as the head coach and the potential problems his coaching might have caused in the locker room, asking Stecher, who came in at the trade deadline and didn’t have 82 games to adjust, what it was like to play under the two-time Stanley Cup winning coach was bound to be interesting.
“I actually really enjoyed playing for him. He’s a really well-respected coach. He’s had a ton of success around the NHL, dating back to even his time in Calgary,” Stecher said. “He was someone I came into kind of heard a lot of different things from some of the players there that were former teammates, and he was someone I respected. It was a coach I like playing for. He was my style of coach. We got along great, so obviously, it’s tough to see him go, but it’s part of the business.”
Stecher even explained why Sutter is his kind of coach and how his play style meshed well with the way he coached.
“I’m a player that works hard and keeps a mouth shut, and he’s a coach that really respects that and expects the best out of you. And if you’re gonna pout and you’re gonna complain, which I don’t think I do as an individual, then you’re obviously going to hear from him. So he’s someone that I respect,” Stecher said. “The fact that if you work hard, he’s going to give you an opportunity, and that’s exactly what he gave me in Calgary. He gave me a great opportunity to play an important role for our team on the third pair and a lot of meaningful minutes, so I really enjoyed my time with him.”
There was a tangible difference between Stecher’s confidence in Arizona and in Calgary. Even his numbers were astronomically better. He won the hearts of fans and made a solid pair with the big Russian, Nikita Zadorov, in the depth of the defence.
Management has to make decisions on plenty of different things, from a new general manager to the coach behind the bench, but they have to take a look at player contracts as well, which includes re-signing Stecher.
“Obviously, that’s something I leave to my agent. He and I will obviously have our discussions in the off-season, which we’ve already begun, just kind of doing a recap of my year and moving forward,” Stecher said. “We’ll do some more research on teams and, you know, what they need as personnel and opportunity, where they are as an organization going forward if they’re winning culture, or third rebuilding phase, and whatever we see as the best fit is the decision we’ll make.”
No matter what, Stecher loved the pressure of playing in a city like Calgary, and he’s a big fan of the Canadian markets, so it’s feasible to see him coming back.
“It’s great. You obviously miss the competitiveness of the market, the media attention, and the pressure of playing in a Canadian city. So it was something that I embraced, something I love to do,” Stecher said. “And obviously, going to Calgary in the position that we were in fighting for a playoff spot and that hunt. Just falling short was a lot of fun and very enjoyable to play in. A lot of meaningful games. So it was something I was looking forward to when I got the phone call.”
Stecher is going to make an impact no matter which team he plays for, but considering all of the chaos surrounding the Flames, it might be good to have someone with the work ethic and energy that he has.
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