Travis Dermott Discussion

[mapleleaf979]

Dermott is currently the weak link on the D core and id upgrade him at the deadline. Dermott isnt impressing me, he struggles with his decisions, he loses his man in the D zone when he puck watches. Dermott has questionable hockey sense at this level.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Dermott is currently the weak link on the D core and id upgrade him at the deadline. Dermott isnt impressing me, he struggles with his decisions, he loses his man in the D zone when he puck watches. Dermott has questionable hockey sense at this level.

His lack of production concerns me but his defensive game is very refined. He's done enough to still make it tough to choose between him and Holl to expose in expansion.

 

[IPS]

His lack of production concerns me but his defensive game is very refined. He's done enough to still make it tough to choose between him and Holl to expose in expansion.

Agreed. It's very possible he becomes an elite defensive D sometime down the line but I really do hope he starts developing atleast some semblance of an offensive game.

 

[PromisedLand]

problem at the moment is that the top4 is kinda settled for the Leafs with:

Rielly Brodie
Muzzin Holl

Unless Dermott cracks the top4 and we see what we have in him we will never know his true potential IMO.

Dermott doesn't see much time on PP either on both units. Also Dermott also signed a one year deal extension for us; he would be looking to expand his earning potential too; if it is not with the Leafs he will be looking to play elsewhere (which is quite understandable). With Sandin/Lily also pushing/knocking on the NHL door it will be interesting indeed.

I guess depends how the Seattle expansion draft ends up for us and also how cap moves (i doubt it moves much); it will be quite the conundrum.

That is why I think this is the year to really push for the playoffs; i.e. stack up for a run and hope for the best.

 

[PromisedLand]

His lack of production concerns me but his defensive game is very refined. He's done enough to still make it tough to choose between him and Holl to expose in expansion.

Holl was pretty good against McDavid with his reach and foot speed I think we need a bigger sample size to really make a judgment call

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Keep Dermy and Sandin ... one of those guys will become a 1st line pair D in NHL by time they are 28 ... and we will have them for 6-7 years of prime time production ... you always need to keep developing defenders ... otherwise we won't be able to maintain salary CAP compliance

 

[DarkKnight]

Defensively he’s been really good, but he needs to up his offence. He can make dashes, but he needs to be more assertive on that side of the ice, to be a more complete D. I still have a lot of time for Dermott and the only reason Lehtonen can’t crack the lineup is because Dermott has been too reliable to sit.

 

[Buds17]

I wouldn't look to entirely place the label of 'defensive defenceman' on him. He could very well end up being the one that is closer to the defensive conscience of whatever pairing he ultimately settles in on though and that seems fine.

 

[FreeBird]

Dermott is currently the weak link on the D core and id upgrade him at the deadline. Dermott isnt impressing me, he struggles with his decisions, he loses his man in the D zone when he puck watches. Dermott has questionable hockey sense at this level.

not used properly he is not a shut down guy too small. he needs some freedom

 

[Notsince67]

Dermott is currently the weak link on the D core and id upgrade him at the deadline. Dermott isnt impressing me, he struggles with his decisions, he loses his man in the D zone when he puck watches. Dermott has questionable hockey sense at this level.

Merda taurorum

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

not used properly he is not a shut down guy too small. he needs some freedom

Dermott's getting 60% o-zone starts and doing squat with them. He's not being used as a shutdown guy at all.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Dermott's getting 60% o-zone starts and doing squat with them. He's not being used as a shutdown guy at all.

Arbitration eligibility kicked in last game. 1 goal half way through. I think he will want to negotiate a long term deal and option for arbitration, so good he’s not rocking lots of points. This is in favour of the team.

 

[123offtheglass]

No way he gets protected over Holl & his contract; doesn't play a second of PK and potentially losing both Holl & Bogosian would be really bad, & the next best RHD is Liljegren...

 

[Randy Randerson]

No way he gets protected over Holl & his contract; doesn't play a second of PK and potentially losing both Holl & Bogosian would be really bad, & the next best RHD is Liljegren...

Agree that Holl gets protected over him, but also think it's an easy enough deal to make with Seattle if we want to keep Dermott. He's a good player that fills in bigger roles when needed and doesn't make a lot of mistakes (I realize the irony with tonight's game).

I think a 2nd or 3rd rounder convinces them to take someone else

 

[Martin Skoula]

Agree that Holl gets protected over him, but also think it's an easy enough deal to make with Seattle if we want to keep Dermott. He's a good player that fills in bigger roles when needed and doesn't make a lot of mistakes (I realize the irony with tonight's game).

I think a 2nd or 3rd rounder convinces them to take someone else

Depends on what kind of money he wants.

 

[Fogelhund]

Keep Dermy and Sandin ... one of those guys will become a 1st line pair D in NHL by time they are 28 ... and we will have them for 6-7 years of prime time production ... you always need to keep developing defenders ... otherwise we won't be able to maintain salary CAP compliance

I just don't see it with Dermott, at least not top pairing. He doesn't have the offense, isn't that big, nor that physical. If he's the guy who goes in the expansion draft, it's about as much as we could hope for.

 

[Teeder Keon]

so what !
He had a bad game
I’ve had a bad year
I’ll trade him !

 

[sxvnert]

Upgrade is necessary before the playoffs. Another LD similar to Bogo in size & toughness who can log PK minutes.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Depends on what kind of money he wants.

True but hasn't seized a big raise opportunity, steady in small sheltered minutes so hopefully a minimal raise

 

[Martin Skoula]

True but hasn't seized a big raise opportunity, steady in small sheltered minutes so hopefully a minimal raise

With his minutes, 1 mil vs 1.5-2 is going to make a difference for us. We can probably fill his minutes for league min, but that guy won't be a viable option to fill in for Rielly/Muzzin in case of injuries.

Then we got Sandin to find minutes for too.

 

[Randy Randerson]

With his minutes, 1 mil vs 1.5-2 is going to make a difference for us. We can probably fill his minutes for league min, but that guy won't be a viable option to fill in for Rielly/Muzzin in case of injuries.

Then we got Sandin to find minutes for too.

He has been a viable fill in for those guys though, so I will disagree there. I think he's a guy that you can get for less than he's worth because of the suppressed role and lack of offense.

I'm not sold on Sandin for the same usage as Dermott, his skating needs to improve a lot before he can be an all situations dman in the nhl. I do think he'll be good on the offensive side but he'll lose every long foot race until he improves his skating a lot

 

[Stephen]

Arbitration eligibility kicked in last game. 1 goal half way through. I think he will want to negotiate a long term deal and option for arbitration, so good he’s not rocking lots of points. This is in favour of the team.

Remember when the Leafs and Babcock under utilized Rielly offensively which resulted in his team friendly-ish contract?

If Dermott survives the expansion draft and signs long term on an affordable deal that could be a real boost. I know the comparison is often made with Justin Holl, but at what point you need to start succession planning on LD in case Muzzin starts declining or we don't manage to re-sign Rielly.

 

[Martin Skoula]

He has been a viable fill in for those guys though, so I will disagree there. I think he's a guy that you can get for less than he's worth because of the suppressed role and lack of offense.

I'm not sold on Sandin for the same usage as Dermott, his skating needs to improve a lot before he can be an all situations dman in the nhl. I do think he'll be good on the offensive side but he'll lose every long foot race until he improves his skating a lot

My bad, wasn't clear. I meant that if we replace Dermott with a league min guy, that replacement will probably be able to handle his minutes when everyones healthy but not top-4 minutes in case of injury. If we can get Dermott at league min then of course I'd rather keep him than go dumpster diving. If he wants 1.5-2 mil that starts to get tight with Hyman's raise + potentially adding someone with term this deadline.

 

[hobarth]

Dermott plays protected minutes, Bogo bales him out lots, his puck management skills are very inconsistent, I wish Bogo would stop deferring to Dermott to move the puck, Bogo altho limited generally does the right thing with the puck, Dermott is usually an adventure.

 

[123offtheglass]

Agree that Holl gets protected over him, but also think it's an easy enough deal to make with Seattle if we want to keep Dermott. He's a good player that fills in bigger roles when needed and doesn't make a lot of mistakes (I realize the irony with tonight's game).

I think a 2nd or 3rd rounder convinces them to take someone else

Yea he definitely does but ultimately if Seattle really wanted him, and he seems like the type of player they might pick, I wouldn't think the Leafs should pushback too much because ultimately they have to give up something. I also feel Sandin has a bright future on this team and he'll be knocking on the door for Dermott's spot, probably quarterbacking PP2 like Lehtonen would if he were in the lineup. Dermott could become the 3rd pair RD but I think the defensive makeup Dubas has constructed this season is optimal, with a heavier D in Bogo in that place that can fill a PK void. A lot can change in a year though with an injury, a sudden emergence of a player, maybe Sandin doesn't progress enough, or Rielly's contract status... so he's definitely worth holding on to as long as they reasonably can. If between him, Sandin, & Liljegren can manage pk without a bogo type of player maybe they roll with that. Maybe Sandin could be splitting games with Dermott and/or Bogosian like a lot of us thought Lehtonen would be this year too.

My personal guess is that the young guys on the cusp progress and create some good problems that management will have to make decisions on, when the time comes.