Coyotes respond to 'very inappropriate comments' from Trevor Zegras.

There were some pretty nasty rumors circulating today about an incident that occurred during Saturday night's game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes and at the center of the controversy were Ducks star forward Trevor Zegras and Arizona Coyotes defenseman Troy Stecher.

During the second period of the game Zegras made comments directed at Stecher that sent the Coyotes defenseman into a fit of rage leading to rampant speculation regarding what Zegras had said to cause Stecher to become so angry. Amateur lip readers quickly came to the conclusion that Zegras had mocked or mentioned Stecher's late father, who tragically passed in 2020 from complications related to diabetes, which was an extremely heavy accusation.

Thankfully I am happy to report that those rumors appear to be incorrect, although that doesn't necessarily mean that Zegras is in the clear regarding what he did say on Saturday night. A report from Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan has confirmed, via the Coyotes themselves, that Zegras did not make mention of Stecher's father but they did go on to clearly condemn whatever it was that he did say.

From Morgan:

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.”

It sounds like we may never know what was actually uttered on the ice given that the Coyotes won't go into any more detail, and when it comes to Stecher himself he is refusing to comment on the matter. Of course I doubt very much that a vague statement of this nature is going to change the minds of those who are already convinced they know what they saw Zegras say, but it is likely the only statement we will see on this matter.

If Stecher was in fact as offended as he appeared to be on Saturday night, he will get his chance to make a statement on the matter on the ice later in the season. The Coyotes and the Ducks will cross paths one more time this year on April 6th, in what is likely to be one of the final games of the season for both teams.