Arizona Coyotes trade Troy Stecher to Edmonton Oilers

The Arizona Coyotes have traded Troy Stecher and a seventh-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for a fourth-round NHL Draft choice, the team confirmed.

The seventh-rounder is originally a Boston Bruins pick for 2024, while Edmonton’s fourth-rounder will come back to Arizona in 2027.

Stecher, a 29-year-old defenseman, scored a goal and added four assists this season in 47 games.

It was Stecher’s second year in Arizona. Last season, he appeared 61 times and recorded seven assists while posting a -3 plus-minus.

Stecher will enter unrestricted free agency after this season.

Arizona had been indicating it was busy as the trade deadline approached Friday when it held out forward Jason Zucker for trade-related reasons on Tuesday.

After 27 goals and 21 assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, Zucker, who is also on an expiring contract, has had more of a down year this season, posting nine goals and 16 assists in 51 games.

The Coyotes were well on their way to improving for the third straight season, but a 14-game losing skid — the longest in Coyotes history of strictly losses — ran from late January all the way through the end of February. That effectively kept general manager Bill Armstrong in selling mode.

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