Troy Stecher

Stecher's decision to re-sign with Edmonton on a one-year, $1.575 million deal seems a little strange when you consider his path to the lineup is muddy at best - especially with the team also going out and adding another depth blueliner in Josh Brown. In his seven regular-season outings for the Oilers, Stecher was limited to two assists, six shots on net and 16 hits while averaging a mere 16:00 of ice time. Assuming he has recovered from offseason ankle surgery, Stetcher projects as a healthy scratch more often than not, making him a relative non-factor in fantasy contests.

Stecher enjoyed his most productive campaign in three years in 2022-23, posting 14 points, 88 shots on goal, 70 hits and 92 blocked shots over 81 games between the Coyotes and the Flames. Clearly, Arizona enjoyed having him around -- after trading him in a deadline deal, they signed him to a new one-year contract to again serve as a steady defensive presence in 2023-24. Stecher has a decent all-around game but won't excel enough in any one category to get into the mix in fantasy.

It's difficult to believe Stecher couldn't do better than a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Coyotes in free agency this past summer, but he's never been much of a point producer, is undersized at 5-foot-10, and he's never tallied more than 111 hits in any of his first six NHL seasons. The current state of the Arizona roster suggests Stecher is going to see a significant amount of playing time if he remains healthy in 2022-23, but it likely won't be enough to make him a fantasy option in any format.

Stecher took a slight step back with 17 points in 69 games with the Canucks last year, who let him walk in free agency. The 26-year-old then signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings, who overhauled their blue line this offseason. Stecher will likely slot into a second-pairing role and may even earn some power-play minutes with his new team in 2020-21, giving him a chance to match his career-best 24-point output from his rookie season. Stecher likely won't appeal to many fantasy managers, but he'll contribute solid totals across nearly all categories without being dominant in any one of them.

Stecher, after a disappointing 2017-18 campaign, returned to form last season, finishing 2018-19 with 23 points, 21 of them coming via the assist. For his career -- 217 games -- the 25-year-old defenseman only has six goals. The signing of Tyler Myers, along with the growth of Quinn Hughes, undoubtedly stands to impact Stecher's ice time as a member of the Canucks, which subsequently hurts his fantasy value. He may not see the 0:54 of average power-play time he benefited from a season ago. Projected as a late-round selection in most 2018-19 fantasy drafts, Stecher may go undrafted this season, but a lot will depend on how Canucks training camp plays out.

He's the Canucks' best puck mover on the right side and also one of the team's best defensemen. Stecher's stats from last season - one goal, 11 points and 94 shots in 68 games - do not properly indicate how good he's been for the Canucks and how much he's grown. Coach Travis Green didn't seem convinced the undersized righty could handle a big workload and played Stecher just 16 minutes per night until January when Stecher started averaging 20 per game. At 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, size will always be a concern, but he's earned his spot in the top four and will likely share power-play duties with Alex Edler, Michael Del Zotto and Derrick Pouliot. His ability to contribute in both hits and blocked shots and potential upside on offense make him an interesting late-round pick in fantasy.

Stecher was a pleasant surprise in his debut season with the Canucks, pacing all Vancouver blueliners with 24 points. The 23-year-old was given a significant role, playing close to 20 minutes a night and anchoring the team’s top power-play unit. Stecher possesses great offensive instincts and seems to read the play very well, so look for him to take another step forward in 2017-18. The Canucks didn't make wholesale changes this offseason, but Stecher should benefit from the continued growth of North Dakota teammate Brock Boeser, in addition to the acquisition of playmaker Sam Gagner. Stecher’s willingness to jump into the play and fire pucks on net arguably makes him the most valuable fantasy asset in Vancouver’s defensive corps.