Edmonton Oilers Place Stecher On NHL Waivers, Send Howard To AHL

The Edmonton Oilers placed defenseman Troy Stecher on NHL waivers and sent rookie left winger Isaac Howard to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

Stecher, 31, has played six games for the Oilers this season but hasn’t made an appearance since Oct. 30 in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers.

With that, the right-handed defenseman has been averaging 13:37 under coach Kris Knoblauch this season, the lowest average ice time in his 10-year NHL career.

Stecher has played parts of three seasons with the Oilers. Last year was when he made the most appearances for Edmonton, featuring in 66 contests and scoring three goals and seven points, averaging 13:52 of ice time.

If no team puts in a claim for the veteran blueliner, he will be assigned to the Condors in the AHL. Stecher has played only four career AHL games, dating back to his first pro campaign in 2016-17.

In addition to the waiver activity, center David Kampf cleared waivers, and his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs has officially been terminated. The 30-year-old is now a UFA.

As for Howard, the rookie doesn’t require waivers to be sent down to the minors. The 21-year-old has played 17 games this season, recording two goals and one assist while averaging 9:30 of ice time.

This roster transaction is reportedly to make space for left winger Zach Hyman, who is expected to return from injury this weekend.

Hyman, 33, still awaits his season debut after suffering an upper-body injury during the early stages of the pre-season. He’s been on the long-term injured reserve, allowing the Oilers to exceed the salary cap ceiling by up to his $5.5-million cap hit. They have about $3.24 million in cap space right now with Hyman on LTIR, according to PuckPedia.

Last season, Hyman scored 27 goals and 44 points in 73 games. In the playoffs, he registered five goals and 11 points in 15 contests before being sidelined with a different injury.

The Oilers are taking on the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, and it’s expected that Hyman will make his season debut then.

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