The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to welcome the Edmonton Oilers for a tilt that always gets some extra eyes on the TV. It’s been that way since the Matthews vs. McDavid showdowns of the North Division season, and with both teams having some prominent early season struggles, both teams will be desperate for a win on Saturday night.

The Oilers recently completed a trade for Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins, parting ways with goaltender Stuart Skinner in the process, and the newcomer is set to start against the Maple Leafs in his debut with the Oilers. The game will also feature a reunion between new Maple Leafs defenceman Troy Stecher and his former team. Stecher spent parts of the last three seasons with the Oilers, including this year, and his former colleagues had plenty of nice things to say about him.

“Great teammate,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said about Stecher. “That’s the biggest thing, he’s an unbelieveable teammate. Great defenceman and I’m happy to see him in such a big role.”

While Stecher eventually fell victim to the numbers game for the Oilers, he arrived in Toronto with a massive opportunity in front of him with the team navigating injuries to fellow right-handed defencemen Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo. He’s seized that opportunity, playing upwards of 20 minutes most nights and bringing an overall stable presence to a defensive corps that needed stability and the locker room as a whole.

Stecher’s former coach, Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch, echoed the numbers game sentiment when asked about his former player.

“Troy, we’ve had a lot of respect for him, and it was hard to see him go,” Knoblauch said. “But, with our situation trying to get younger, with having some younger players in our lineup, we had more responsibilities for Ty Emberson, we didn’t really have a place for him. And unfortunately he was the odd guy out.”

Knoblauch followed this up by commending Stecher’s leadership and work ethic, which have already been picked up on by his Maple Leafs teammates and their fans.

“For him to come here and play as well as he has, playing, you know, 24 minutes a night, we are extremely happy for him,” Knoblauch continued. “There’s a guy who worked extremely hard every single day and no matter if he’s playing or not, he’s got the same attitude.”

The Maple Leafs will look to get back into the win column against an Oilers team that will be fighting every bit as hard for those two points.

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