The Toronto Maple Leafs are a favorite to win the Stanley Cup this season.
After starting 7-2, this team has a few flaws but overall they’re playing at an extremely high-level. In order to maximize the potential of this roster, they need to make a few upgrades and it starts with Travis Dermott.
This has nothing to do with the person or player that Dermott is. In fact, his personality lights up a room and he’s a very good defenseman. However, if the Leafs want to upgrade their team, they could use him as a trade chip.
The Leafs are only going to go as far as their superstars take them. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will have to provide offensive damage most nights, but that doesn’t mean the team should should rely on that to happen.
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Options
Their bottom-six forwards and bottom-two defenseman are very good right now, but you can always improve. Joe Thornton will return to the line-up shortly and will help balance out the roster, but after seeing what Zach Hyman, Matthews and Marner can do together, I wouldn’t be so quick to put Jumbo back on the top-line.
Instead, he may be better suited on the third-pair or even slotted with John Tavares and William Nylander.
Jimmy Vesey has been good at times, but he’s also had some stinkers. Relying on him to be in the top-six is something this team would probably rather avoid. To continue with the bottom-six, they haven’t found the exact formula yet, but it’s been nice to see Travis Boyd, Jason Spezza, Adam Brooks and Wayne Simmonds all find the scoresheet.
The Leafs defensive-core is similar, as the top-four is established and the bottom-pair isn’t. Zach Bogosian has really grown on me over the past week, so I’d like for him to stay, while I truly think Mikko Lehtonen can be an everyday player. Dermott has been a fine player, but I think Rasmus Sandin or Lehtonen can replace him and it wouldn’t change the outcome.
So to bring it all back to Travis Dermott, the Leafs have a bunch of “guys” that they can rotate in an out of the line-up, but the only real trade piece they have is Dermott. He’s making close to league minimum and only has one-year left on his contract. The Leafs could either look to him as a player they wouldn’t mind losing in the NHL Expansion Draft, or they could trade him to upgrade their team.
In order for this team to be close to perfect, another top-six left-winger and one more established defenseman would do the trick. Based on Dermott’s age, contract and potential, he should have the ability to help bring in at least one of those assets.
Dermott is a fine defensemen but they have Sandin at a similar price who can jump in and replace him next year. If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to maximize this team’s potential, it may be best for them to package up the blue-liner from Newmarket and upgrade their roster.