Calgary Flames acquire Troy Stecher, Nick Ritchie from Arizona Coyotes for Connor Mackey, Brett Ritchie
The Calgary Flames have acquired defenceman Troy Stecher and bruising power winger Nick Ritchie from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenceman Connor Mackey and forward Brett Ritchie.
Stecher, 28, is playing out a one-year, $1.25 million deal that he signed with the Coyotes last offseason. He has seven assists in 61 games as of this writing.
Troy Stecher, acquired by CGY, is a third-pair two-way defenceman. #Flames pic.twitter.com/64FqCUtkIV
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 3, 2023
This is now the second year in a row that Stecher has been dealt at the deadline. Though he's a little on the small side for an NHL defenceman, he's proven a capable in-zone defender with some puck-moving utility. He likely has a bit more to offer offensively than his seven points this season suggest.
This addition reunites Stecher with his 2019-20 Canucks teammates Jacob Markström, Chris Tanev, and Tyler Toffoli.
Nick Ritchie, 27, is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $2.5 million cap hit. He has 21 points in 48 games as of this writing.
Going Arizona's way are a pair of depth contributors in Mackey and Ritchie. The former may have some untapped upside, having been buried behind the considerable depth on the Flames' blue line after signing with the club as one of the top NCAA free agents back in 2020.
