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The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade Travis Dermott

ByStephen Nixon|
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 29: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 29, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 29: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 29, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs upgraded their defense via Free Agency, which means Travis Dermott is now expendable.

After arguing about the Toronto Maple Leafs defense for years, it’s hard to believe that the team now has a tradeable 23-year-old defenseman. However, that’s the case with Travis Dermott.

The former second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has been a regular on the Leafs blue-line for two seasons, but a few moves during Free Agency have moved him down the depth chart.

With no obvious spot for Dermott to play, the Leafs would be better off trading him.

Toronto Maple Leafs Defense

Let’s take a look at the Leafs defense:

  • Morgan Rielly – LD
  • Jake Muzzin – LD
  • T.J. Brodie – RD
  • Justin Holl – RD
  • Mikko Lehtonen – LD
  • Zach Bogosian – RD
  • Rasmus Sandin – LD
  • Timothy Liljegren – RD
  • Calle Rosen – LD
  • Martin Marincin – RD

In an ideal world, the pairings would then go like this:

  • Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
  • Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
  • Rasmus Sandin – Mikko Lehtonen 
  • Zach Bogosian (Extra)

Similar to T.J. Brodie, although Lehtonen is a left-handed shot defenseman, he’s fine playing on the right-side, so that pushes Dermott further down the line-up. Sure, you could slot him in, but look what Lehtonen is doing in the KHL right now.

In 10 games thus far, he has 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) and is tearing up the KHL. This isn’t junior hockey or the American Hockey League we’re talking about either. This is the second best league in the world and the best league currently playing right now and he’s dominating. At $925K, Lehtonen should be in the line-up full-time for the Leafs next season.

Although he’s never played in the NHL, he shouldn’t have an issue adjusting to the North American style. Even if he does struggle, he’s not coming into the Leafs line-up as the number-one option, but instead can be put on the third-pairing. If the Leafs really want to put him in a good position, he could be paired alongside Rielly or Muzzin and then Sandin can play with a veteran like Bogosian or Brodie every night.

All of these different options make trading Dermott worthwhile. Not only will Dermott put the team in a serious cap-crunch if they sign him, but they really don’t need him anymore. He’s an awesome skater and can rush the puck up the ice, but his defensive skills are lacking. Despite his inefficiencies, there still should be a number of teams lining up to trade him because of his age and potential.

By trading Dermott, the Leafs wouldn’t get a huge package in return but they should be able to get a draft pick or a prospect, similar to the Andreas Johnsson trade. Defensive depth is nice, but Dermott is now sixth on the depth chart among just the lefties.

It was fun watching Dermott develop through the Marlies and become an important player on the team’s Calder Cup championship, but now it’s time to trade the asset and move on while you can.

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