Dermott Discussion

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Since we don’t have a current thread on him and he’s been a bit of a prominent player as of late I thought I’d make one.
The way I see it, he’s on very thin ice as a member of this team. His play has regressed over the last 2 seasons, Dubas is likely to pick up another defenseman, and Liljegren and Sandin have been good on the bottom pairing this year.

Click to read more...

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Been awful lately

 

[Stephen]

He seems to be stuck at the "recent callup" stage of a young defenseman's progression path but is quickly approaching 250 career regular season games playd.

 

[wingman75]

Crazy right?! I remember when he came up to the team, just before Holl I think and they both scored pretty early into it and there was a LOT of excitement.

I feel like he has not progressed at all either, though I am sure he has improved. Agreed, when we bring in that defenseman (we have to), he might be the odd one out...

He had a tough game tonight too, but I mean, not sure he can carry a defensive pair as he was asked to tonight. Biega was in over his head.

 

[Stephen]

Crazy right?! I remember when he came up to the team, just before Holl I think and they both scored pretty early into it and there was a LOT of excitement.

I feel like he has not progressed at all either, though I am sure he has improved. Agreed, when we bring in that defenseman (we have to), he might be the odd one out...

He had a tough game tonight too, but I mean, not sure he can carry a defensive pair as he was asked to tonight. Biega was in over his head.

I thought when the Leafs danced around with draft pick trades at the 2015 draft and settled on Dermott they must have thought they had a second round gem a la Duncan Keith or PK Subban on their hands. Why else go through the trouble of trading down once or twice to make it happen?

He has a lot of raw tools but just never really put it together offensively or defensively.

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Crazy right?! I remember when he came up to the team, just before Holl I think and they both scored pretty early into it and there was a LOT of excitement.

I feel like he has not progressed at all either, though I am sure he has improved. Agreed, when we bring in that defenseman (we have to), he might be the odd one out...

He had a tough game tonight too, but I mean, not sure he can carry a defensive pair as he was asked to tonight. Biega was in over his head.

He’s lugged around his fair share of meh defensemen over the years. Ozhiganov, Borgman, Rosen, Carrick, Ceci

 

[wingman75]

He’s lugged around his fair share of meh defensemen over the years. Ozhiganov, Borgman, Rosen, Carrick, Ceci

Wow, that is quite the list. Ha ha I loved the Borgman.. for 5 minutes. I mean, he is on the outside looking in with a healthy lineup... maybe, or splitting with Timmy at best. Have to assume whoever we bring in is at least as good as Holl (the good Holl)... he becomes depth or maybe included in a trade package? As much as I despise how Holl has been playing, I love his size and reach.

 

[Buds17]

Dermott's ability to play the right side obviously crossed over from luxury to necessity once Sandin was deemed ready for permanent graduation to the bigs. To be able to run seven deep on the blueline would be a big boon for the team. That will eventually run its course though.

 

[Menzinger]

Im not sure he has a longer term future with the team.

Has had some moments of promise but still hasn't transitioned into being a full time top 4 guy, and is running out of time there. He is also going to start getting pricer in terms of contract

 

[jaric1862]

I've been saying this for a while. He pretty much is what he is at this point. He's a bottom pairing guy.

 

[ACC1224]

He’s better than Holl which is a big problem.

 

[DarkKnight]

I still like him over Holl as well.

 

[Stephen]

Dermott vs Holl is a tough one. You like Dermott’s skillset more but they can both make mistakes in open ice. Dermott also has a slight build and can be very susceptible to breaking down under heavy forecheck whereas Holl can be quite functional under more physical duress being the biggest defenseman we have.

I hate to say it but size does matter on the blueline. Tampa is a redwood forest of defensemen protecting their net. I just have a hard time envisioning a long run if the opposition can key in on our weaker D with confidence.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Dermy has been biggest disappointment to me of all our D because he should be turning corner now and be relied on for 2nd pair minutes with any injury .. but he is still far better then Holl and better then Sandin and Lily .. but that is not saying much .. he still is thinking through positioning and plays too much which is causing hesitation and mistakes .. it should be coming more natural to him where he doesn't have to do da calculations in his head in real time but he is clearly not there yet .. will he get there? .. it is anyone's guess .. I have seen some pretty dumb guys get there and some serious brain Childs fail .. but he does have da tools to be a top 4 - he can skate close to Rielly (which no one else on team comes close to) and he has decent hands .. to me it is all upstairs at this point .. he might still be da shining star but he might be out of league too .. that is where he is

 

[CincoHolio]

Never been a huge Dermott fan. Simply do not understand what people are expecting of him? Bottom pairing guy who needs to be carried somewhat, on that pairing. Looked his best with Bogo. When people say they are disappointed - maybe your expectations for a 2nd round pick are higher than they should be? Dermott is serviceable in a bottom pairing role - limited minutes, 6/7/8 on the depth chart. Frankly, he should be a target for an upgrade. Just don't get the frustration with him. He's just not that good and one shouldn't expect him to be.

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Never been a huge Dermott fan. Simply do not understand what people are expecting of him? Bottom pairing guy who needs to be carried somewhat, on that pairing. Looked his best with Bogo. When people say they are disappointed - maybe your expectations for a 2nd round pick are higher than they should be? Dermott is serviceable in a bottom pairing role - limited minutes, 6/7/8 on the depth chart. Frankly, he should be a target for an upgrade. Just don't get the frustration with him. He's just not that good and one shouldn't expect him to be.

Because as a 20 to 22 year old he was among the best third pairing defensemen in the entire NHL, by both analytics and the eye test. He hasn't progressed AT ALL over the last 2 seasons

 

[TMLAM34]

Dermott looked great paired with Bogosian. You can’t pair him with players like Sandin and Biega and expect him to do good. He’s another defenceman we have that needs to be paired with a shutdown defenceman.

 

[Twine Tickler]

He is what he is unfortunately. The Engvall of our Defensive corp. He just cannot find consistency in his game unfortunately. It's been 5+ years of inconsistent play from Travis. He's got the raw abilities to be an everyday guy, but lacks the IQ of an everyday player.

I've been pulling for Travis for a long time, I just think it won't work out long term for us with him in the lineup. We really need a bigger bodied defenseman in place of him. Someone who is able to play a simple game. Someone like a Zach Bogosian. I know it will never happen, but someone like Zach would be ideal.

Honestly even Luke Schenn. Stanley cup winner, physical, and keeps it simple. I definitely think he could be had from Vancouver, and not even for Dermott. Could probably get away with very little going the other way. It's just a different look on the back end that we clearly need.

 

[jaric1862]

Dermott has never shown he can handle top 4 minutes in any capacity. He’s been sheltered since the minute he entered the NHL. Holl at least has.

 

[613Leafer]

Development is very weird and non-linear. Dermott had a very strong start to his NHL career (when you consider age, skill set, etc) and definitely seemed to have legit #2-3 dman upside, but he just hasn't really progressed at all.

 

[Nylanderthal]

He’s quite handily been the seventh best D man when the roster is fully healthy. I’d be looking to swindle some team into seeing something in him and packaging him with a 1st or 2nd round pick for an upgrade.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Because as a 20 to 22 year old he was among the best third pairing defensemen in the entire NHL, by both analytics and the eye test. He hasn't progressed AT ALL over the last 2 seasons

As poster in here said and he is dead on right D progression is not linear .. but he had an amazing opportunity to learn from Bogo last year and I feel like it was almost a total failure .. I am not sure if it is Leaf style of hockey which is a puck possession passing game and keep puck approach which may be contributing to his issues but his time is running out here .. he is overthinking and things are not coming natural to him on where to be and why as he learns with more reps in pro hockey .. then he hesitates and boom a turnover .. you can have all the skating and hand skill in world but what is missing is his defensive positioning and team systems .. what really worries me is Carlyle had exact same issues and we ran him out of town right into Norris trophy .. Randy always could skate and had hands but he was always in wrong spot hesitated and boom defensive turnover .. and he is not sharpest tool in drawer either but he finally got it and wow what a D he became

 

[Stephen]

He’s quite handily been the seventh best D man when the roster is fully healthy. I’d be looking to swindle some team into seeing something in him and packaging him with a 1st or 2nd round pick for an upgrade.

Seems like we missed a critical opportunity on that rumoured Weegar for Johnsson and Dermott deal a couple of summers ago.

You always wonder if Dermott could take a big step one of these years. But nothing doing.

 

[TheShape]

Jittery back there and suddenly too expensive to be a number 6-7 guy. Still has age on his side though and a serviceable player, Dermott won’t be a hard piece to move. I thought for sure it would be an off-season trade but wouldn’t surprise me now to see him go at the deadline

 

[dubplatepressure]

Fire him into the sun and make room for Kral or Duscak.