No. 3: Travis Dermott
Dermott has been with the Leafs organization for six years and has been a steady player for both the Toronto Marlies and Leafs the entire time. However, he doesn’t really bring much that Sandin or Liljegren can’t.
For example, when Dermott was drafted, based on his great skating and offensive numbers in junior, I expected a second power-play type defenseman and someone who could get the puck up fast by passing or by skating.
We saw glimpses of that when he started but he’s slowed down. Maybe it’s because the Leafs style of play changed, but if Dermott can’t provide much offensively, why are they keeping him? He’s looked fine beside Morgan Rielly, but I’d rather see Sandin there and then a mixture of Jake Muzzin-Justin Holl and/or Timothy Liljegren-T.J. Brodie.
If we could see more offensive upside from Dermott, then it would make sense to keep him over Holl. But, in my opinion, I’d rather have the bigger defenseman with better defensive upside in Holl if either of them aren’t providing any offense. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
Hypothetical Trade:
- Toronto Maple Leafs receive: 2022 fourth-round pick and 2023 third-round pick
- New Jersey Devils receive: Travis Dermott
As Leafs fans, we over-value our players too much and when it comes to Dermott, he’s just another defenseman. As a result, you’re probably not going to get a ton for him, unless he’s packaged with Engvall and someone like Alex Kerfoot.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Toronto Maple Leafs do in the next few weeks, but expect a trade to happen sooner than later.