The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the need of a bit of a shakeup and while Troy Stecher doesn’t exactly put the team in a paint mixer, he helps address some of the concerns about the bottom of the Leafs defensive lineup card.

What the Leafs know for sure this season is that Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers are not getting it done. You can probably add Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit to that list as well but bringing in Stecher doesn’t address their shortcomings. It is a move that will eventually produce a Myers and/or Mermis demotion.

The need is clearly there, but the question is whether or not Troy Stecher is the player to help address it. He’s a right shot which is always a bonus. He’s a player that the Oilers were hoping they would be able to clear and report to the AHL, so he’s still seen as a defenceman that adds value in the eyes of a club that has been to the Stanley Cup Final in the past two playoffs. And Stecher is a player that Brad Treliving has acquired once before and one that Treliving and Berube would have seen a lot of during their time in the Western Conference.

In contrast, at 5-foot-10, Troy Stecher doesn’t fit with the big bad Leafs image that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube are trying to build. And at 31, Stecher isn’t a step towards a youthful reimagining of the blueline, he’s more of the same and after Stecher getting into 66 regular season games and eight playoff games for the Oilers last season, he’s only played six of 19 games for the Oilers this season, he hasn’t looked as good in the system he’s used to playing.

Stecher’s on ice differentials have been the worst of the Oilers blueline this season, which is partially attributed to lack of offence from the Oilers bottom six forward group that Stecher has regularly been playing with, and a 1.51 GA/60 and 2.48 xGA/60 are numbers that the Leafs can work with.

Stecher has generally had adequate numbers throughout his career, justifying the amount of time he’s been able to carve out a niche as 7th defenceman in the league. Stecher’s willingness to do what it takes to hold a job shows up in his shot block totals but his biggest benefit, that doesn’t show in his offensive numbers is that he is capable passer and can improve the bottom pairing’s controlled zone exits.

There are some similarities in Troy Stecher’s game to Mike Van Ryn’s game when he played that might make him a good fit for the team.

Bringing in Stecher off of waivers was a no risk move for the Maple Leafs, but still feels a little unnecessary. There are a lot of similarities in Stecher’s game to Matt Benning’s game, and while Stecher has had the better run the past couple of years, it is interesting that Benning hasn’t received a look at time when the Leafs blueline depth clearly needed a kick in the pants. The depth struggles on the blueline also seemed like a potential opening for William Villeneuve, although the Leafs might be concerned about the defensive side of his game and that isn’t an area the Leafs are wanting to take a step back on at the moment.

Last season, Troy Stecher primarily played with Darnell Nurse, which makes some sense. Darnell Nurse was allowed to attack the game a bit more, chase the big hit, and Stecher brought a safer, positional element to the game. From a Leafs perspective that might make Stecher a fit for Ekman-Larsson, who can pursue the offensive side of the puck a bit more, or playing with Benoit, and letting Benoit be more aggressive on the puck carrier and chase big hits.

While Stecher has the potential to be a depth upgrade for the Maple Leafs, his acquisition doesn’t improve the Leafs beyond plugging a leak at the bottom of their roster. Getting Mermis and Myers out of the lineup is a step forward if Stecher can give the team replacement level results.