Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Are the Leafs Contenders?

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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 22: Mike Babcock of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks out of the dressing room as the Leafs wait to take the ice for the second period of play against the Colorado Avalanche at the Air Canada Centre on January 22, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Lauren Kelly

Travis Dermott has been so good in his first 10 games in the NHL that it’s simply mindboggling he didn’t make the team earlier this season, or even out of training camp.

Now that he’s with the team, despite being a rookie, he injects the blueline with an extra offensive edge they desperately needed. If the Leafs continue to have him play in the lineup, I see no reason for them not to be legitimate contenders this year.

The one caveat I have here is that when Roman Polak and Ron Hainsey (and Morgan Rielly) are healthy enough to return, what does Mike Babcock do with so many options?

If (and I hope not) Dermott ends up on the sidelines when the original six defensemen are all healthy (which shouldn’t be the case because he is so much better and more defensively responsible than Polak) then it’s hard to say whether the Leafs could go deep in the playoffs.

It’s hard to pin that on just Dermott, but it’s pretty obvious he makes the team and blueline better. He should stay with the team. He should be playing 18-20 minutes a night, every game. Frankly, he deserves it, and he’s proven to be more than capable of the minutes he’s been given.

What happens next is up to Babcock. At the end of the day, those blueline decisions will determine whether the Leafs are true contenders this year.

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