Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Troy Stecher is expected to hit the open market, according to a report from The Leafs Nation’s Nick Alberga.

Stecher, who is a veteran of over 600 NHL games with seven different teams, was claimed by the Maple Leafs in November after he was waived by the Edmonton Oilers. He came at a time of dire circumstances for the Leafs, with the team battling a number of different injuries to their defensive corps at the time including absences by Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo on the right side. Stecher immediately won over the hearts of fans with his work ethic and fearlessness for his size (5-foot-10, 184 pounds) and even chipped in some offence for the team early on.

The 32-year-old’s play started to slip as the season went on, but he was hardly to blame for it given a) how awful the team was overall and b) how much they had used him early on. He was routinely playing over 20 minutes a night for the team, which is well beyond the ask you’d usually have for a depth defenceman.

“It was great, and I have really fond memories of playing here,” Stecher said following the season. “It’s a world-class organization, and who knows what’s going to happen here in the off-season with all the changes we’ve had. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I hope I’m back. I really enjoyed being a Leaf, and I’ll just leave it at that.”

With the Maple Leafs having added Darren Raddysh for their right side and also having Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo both under contract, it makes sense that Stecher would want to explore opportunities elsewhere. A reunion isn’t necessarily out of the cards, but the odds dropped following the signing of Raddysh.

Stecher will be free to sign with any NHL team when the signing period opens up on July 1.