Troy Stetcher was far from happy with Trevor Zegras over the weekend.
During the Ducks’ 2-1 overtime win over the Coyotes on Jan. 28, a scuffle ensued in the second period after a collision along the wall.
Zegras and Stetcher were not the two that initially got into it, but as the scrum ensued, Stetcher became visibly upset at something Zegras said and went after him.
#Yotes not having any of it. pic.twitter.com/TNSWuMLnFd
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) January 29, 2023
Four penalties were handed out as a result of the incident. Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton received a two-minute minor for roughing, Ducks forward Adam Henrique got a two-minute minor for high-sticking and Zegras was handed two minutes for roughing, as well as a 10-minute misconduct penalty. Stetcher was not penalized on the play.
Zegras went on to score the overtime winner to give Anaheim the win, the team’s second time defeating Arizona in a week.
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The verbal exchange left fans wondering what exactly it was that Zegras said to Stetcher to get him so angry.
What did Trevor Zegras say to Troy Stetcher?
During the Ducks-Coyotes game on Saturday, Arizona took exception to Adam Henrique and Zegras getting extra shoves and cross-checks in on Barrett Hayton, who was attempting to get up from being on the ice.
As the scrum ensued, Zegras and Stetcher were seen jawing at each other, to the point where Stetcher became visibly enraged at something that was said and went after Zegras.
Trevor Zegras had Troy Stecher HEATED last night 🤬
(h/t @icemancometh) pic.twitter.com/hbNjdzqgEA
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 29, 2023
The game of hockey constantly has scrums and heated moments. But the reaction from Stetcher was something out of the ordinary. It’s almost as if a switch was flipped, and Stetcher rapidly grew irate with Zegras.
It was unclear on the broadcast what exactly was said by the Ducks forward to incite the Coyotes defensemen, but Twitter tried to read Zegras’ lips on the videos circulating online.
One of the theories that quickly spread on social media was that Zegras was talking about Stetcher’s late father. Multiple tweets referenced Zegras appearing to point up at the sky when mouthing off to Stetcher and some speculated that he allegedly said “your dad’s watching.”
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports confirmed through the Coyotes that what Zegras said to Stetcher did not involve his father, but were “some very inappropriate comments.”
I can confirm via the Coyotes that Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras did not say anything about Troy Stecher’s father during their dust-up last night but, per a team source, he crossed the line with “some very inappropriate comments.”
Stecher has declined comment on the topic.— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) January 29, 2023
As Morgan also reported, Stetcher declined to comment after the game on the matter.
Zegras said after the game that he “wasn’t sure” why what he said garnered the reaction it did from Stetcher.
“It was pretty standard trash talk,” Zegras said. “If he wants to act like that, it’s totally fine.”
Troy Stetcher’s dad
Stetcher’s father, Peter, died nearly three years ago due to complications from diabetes. He passed away at the age of 65 on June 21, 2020, which was Father’s Day.
The defenseman called the experience his “darkest nightmare,” as he had to navigate the passing of his father in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(My dad) was my first coach and my favorite coach,” Stecher said in an interview with Sportsnet. “He was my best friend. My dad was always hard on me as a player. He wasn’t an ahole or anything, but my dad expected me to work hard and he wasn’t going to sugar-coat anything. He was going to tell me the way it was, and I’m thankful for that.”
