Travis Dermott

[Mickey Marner]

There's a lot of potential there that we've never really attempted to unlock. We just slot him in as bottom-pair LD with no special teams in perpetuity, so that's all he is for us. Wasted years of his development. I agree that he probably ends up being a top-four guy with Seattle once he's actually given the opportunity to develop.

 

[Knies iT]

He will not "take next steps" if he's put in the exact same situation as when he debuted years ago. Since then, he's been given zero PP opportunity, despite stretches where Muzzin/Rielly/etc. have gone down to injury. Now that the PP is 1/40, or something absurd, the coach still doesn't experiment with him there, but instead runs a sluggish 32 year old DFD in Muzzin on PP2.

Until this season, he's been paired with garbage partners. I have no idea how people expect him to develop if he's just planted on a 3rd pair with spare parts and expected to carry the load. Watch games from his final Marlies season and compare it to now and you'll realize how they've effectively neutered his offensive confidence. Hell, even re-watch his NHL debut and you'll see the difference.

Dominates 3rd pair usage and has QB'd at every level outside of the NHL (Erie and Marlies on 1PP). Best skating defenseman on the team in all directions. The org. doesn't know how to develop young NHL caliber D and haven't for a long time.

 

[Voodoo Child]

I like him.

He's a capable 3rd pair guy with upside. I think it's not that he's stagnated, just that the left side is crowded and he isn't as good as Rielly or Muzzin and doesn't ceiling out as a Rielly or Muzzin level guy.

In his role he's fine, plays pretty safe; he's not big but nor is he small, he's fast but not Rielly or Makar fast, his shot is good but it isn't great and his brain for the game is good but he still makes mistakes.

He's a local boy who loves being a Leaf but I can see him either asking for a trade, or being a sweetener in an expansion deal.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

being a sweetener in an expansion deal

Isn't he basically the key guy we're potentially losing in the expansion?

 

[Ciao]

I will be sad when he's claimed by Seattle.

If it were my decision, I would likely protect him over Holl. However, I can't imagine that happening,

 

[Twine Tickler]

He's a good player. I think the best version of Travis is when he plays a quiet defense first game. That's the case for majority of defensemen really. The only downside with Travis is that he unfortunately has just enough skill to make plays offensively that he shouldn't be making. Which has developed into some really bad habits last year, and to a way lesser degree this year. He definitely has simplified his game quite well this year for the most part, but still occasionally gets caught with his pants down from time to time. I think if I were Leafs management I would show him game tape of TJ Brodie and tell him that they have the exact same skillset, but different decision making. He is a defensive first mindset away from being a 4 million dollar D-man. He has shown many times this year that he can play a very solid defensive first game, but he needs to make that his only focus. His offensive upside is not going to make him money. Stop with the risky pinches, and make a strong first pass. Both are very attainable for him. Strong defensive play with good defensive zone breakouts will keep this kid in the league for 10 more years. If he wants to be a fringe offensive defensemen, he will be in Europe in 5 years. There will always be a better and younger version of that type of player coming up.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I will give you a tip. NHLers. Once you get into the show. You are part of the club.

I do biz, socialize with quite a few NHLers. You can say just about anything. Just don't ask about one of their teammates, you will get a face that even the stone faced, cigar store indian Joe Biden cannot create.

So to answer your question. Hockey boards really are relevant. Because, NHL players protect their own.

You would have to be married to one of them or be related or be lucky to have been invited to Tom Wilson's celebration party in North York to hear even one decent story.

NHLers love it. Why? Not because, they don't want fans to have a fun fan experience, but because they feel they have been taken advantage of, for decades.

So. Dermott? We have to go by icetime .

By my reports, which of course are scanty. Great guy, great teammate. Lol. I hear that almost every time.

His injury, was severe. He is not big. He is powerful, but a powerful small guy.

I like the guy. Hope he has a long and very lucrative career. Will always cheer for him.

I don't worry when he is on the ice.

I wish I had more to say about him. I will say this, if he wasn't worried about re separating his shoulder? This board would be a lot more positive about him.

But it is, what it is. A good hockey player, small, but tough, someone you should not just give up.

I will also say. No one is speaking up, yay, or nay. Isn't that what you want from a Dman? Just a rock that you don't notice?

Let this guy's shoulder heal for another year, let him train hard. Lets see, in the meantime, no one is calling for his head, which in Leafland, must be heaven for a Leaf player.

Signed, Travis Dermott's Publicist

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I will give you a tip. NHLers. Once you get into the show. You are part of the club.

I do biz, socialize with quite a few NHLers. You can say just about anything. Just don't ask about one of their teammates, you will get a face that even the stone faced, cigar store indian Joe Biden cannot create.

So to answer your question. Hockey boards really are relevant. Because, NHL players protect their own.

You would have to be married to one of them or be related or be lucky to have been invited to Tom Wilson's celebration party in North York to hear even one decent story.

NHLers love it. Why? Not because, they don't want fans to have a fun fan experience, but because they feel they have been taken advantage of, for decades.

So. Dermott? We have to go by icetime .

By my reports, which of course are scanty. Great guy, great teammate. Lol. I hear that almost every time.

His injury, was severe. He is not big. He is powerful, but a powerful small guy.

I like the guy. Hope he has a long and very lucrative career. Will always cheer for him.

I don't worry when he is on the ice.

I wish I had more to say about him. I will say this, if he wasn't worried about re separating his shoulder? This board would be a lot more positive about him.

But it is, what it is. A good hockey player, small, but tough, someone you should not just give up.

I will also say. No one is speaking up, yay, or nay. Isn't that what you want from a Dman? Just a rock that you don't notice?

Let this guy's shoulder heal for another year, let him train hard. Lets see, in the meantime, no one is calling for his head, which in Leafland, must be heaven for a Leaf player.

Oh, and one more thing. NHL players feel they're taken advantage of? "Minimum wage" NHL players make more in one season than most workers make in their LIFETIME.

They can stick their entitlement mentality up their asses.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

He will not "take next steps" if he's put in the exact same situation as when he debuted years ago. Since then, he's been given zero PP opportunity, despite stretches where Muzzin/Rielly/etc. have gone down to injury. Now that the PP is 1/40, or something absurd, the coach still doesn't experiment with him there, but instead runs a sluggish 32 year old DFD in Muzzin on PP2.

Until this season, he's been paired with garbage partners. I have no idea how people expect him to develop if he's just planted on a 3rd pair with spare parts and expected to carry the load. Watch games from his final Marlies season and compare it to now and you'll realize how they've effectively neutered his offensive confidence. Hell, even re-watch his NHL debut and you'll see the difference.

Dominates 3rd pair usage and has QB'd at every level outside of the NHL (Erie and Marlies on 1PP). Best skating defenseman on the team in all directions. The org. doesn't know how to develop young NHL caliber D and haven't for a long time.

The only thing I need to say to this post is.....Maybe they're waiting for him to take his offensive confidence back? Don't wait for it, TAKE IT.

 

[Kurtz]

He'll look good in Seattle - or on a team that's smart enough to toss us a 2nd for him before the draft.

But we need to open up room for Sandin/Lil, and he's our 6th dman with the top 5 guys surely coming back next year.

 

[Menzinger]

He's been fine, good even at times.

But I'm not sure he's 100% demonstrated that he's more than a #5 who sometimes looks to be more.than that but lacks consistency

I'm still not convinced Seattle takes him. They will need centers and Kerfoot will be one of the few guys exposed who can play there

 

[bossram]

I agree, and I gave you a like. But I don't want to see this guy go. I called all over the internet that Schenn was a nice kid, a good kid, but not all that. I also called Ryan O'Reilly as being huge. Way undersold in terms of draft.

I see something in Dermott, same for Liljegren.

Btw, Dubas god bless him, just cannot help himself. He wanted the great smurf out of Phoenix, Conor Garland, a tazmanian devil of a player, over Nick Foligno.

Dubas loves players like Dermott and Garland. But he printed up, Sabourin last night.

Was everyone entertained? Me no? But blood was shed.

Thankfully, I think Dubas sees what I see in Liljegren and is just playing him perfectly for his ELC status.

Dermott, I suspect, Dubas, likes, skate well, really well, shoot, pass, and ultimately score.

I could be wrong, but I cannot remember when.

I woulda taken Forsberg over Rielly, shoot me.

Do you speak in real life like this? What are you talking about?

Yes, we like Dermott. But he's probably not in the Leafs' future plans considering the expansion draft is coming.

...and then you have like 19 other topics you mentioned. Huh?

 

[Jacquestrapless]

Hopefully, as the season draws to a close, we start resting the top-4 a bit so Dermott can move up a pairing. Might as well give him extra looks, especially if one of the LHD goes down again in the playoffs. I remember he didn't do so bad when given higher minutes in his time here.

 

[Sundinisagod]

I will be sad when he's claimed by Seattle.

If it were my decision, I would likely protect him over Holl. However, I can't imagine that happening,

I would not protect him over Holl, but I would send a draft pick to Seattle to keep him here.

A year ago I would have given up on Dermott but this year he's taken a step forward and I think he's on track to quietly becoming a good #4d.

 

[jaric1862]

He's going to need to take a massive step this year, especially on the penalty kill without Bogosian.

His progress has seemingly stalled which doesn't bode well for this season.

 

[Stephen]

Dermott needs to sit beside Brodie in the dressing room and soak up whatever wisdom he has going. I think on the face of it he has a lot of raw tools to grow into a Brodie style defenseman but really needs to take big steps now.

 

[mulefarm]

He’s been overrated just like Percy was. Nothing more than a 3rd pairing player.

 

[Antropovsky]

He’s been overrated just like Percy was. Nothing more than a 3rd pairing player.

Percy only got a cup of coffee in the NHL... and the hype was short lived and more speculative as there was limited viewing of him. Don't think their situations are comparable.

 

[meefer]

As a Dman born in 1996, Dermott has played 208 games for us. The only other Dmen born in that year (of which there are 35) who've played more games than Travis: Ekblad, Sanheim, Petterson, Andersson, Dunn, Carlo. In total points, Dermott has only outproduced Carlo. In points/60 he's outpaced Carlo by almost 2x and is within .1 point/game of Andersson. Dermott has played anywhere from 1:06 - 7:30 minutes less/game than all of the others (Petterson-Ekblad being the outliners). Provorov, Hanifan, Chabot, Werenski and McAvoy are the only defensemen from '97 (of which there are 33) to have played more games than Dermott. A severely separated shoulder cost Dermott games in two seasons and impeded his play and progression during one season. His main partners during these 4 seasons: Bogosian, Holl, Barrie, Ceci, Gardiner (Dermott playing his off side), Ozhiganov, Zaitsev, Polak, Carrick and Marancin (playing his off side again). Not exactly a murderers row of talent.

Cap hit:
Ekblad: 7.5M
Sanheim: RFA, 3.25M last year
Petterson: 4.025M
Andersson: 4.55M
Dunn: RFA 1.875M last year
Carlo: 4.1M
Provorov: 6.75M
Hanifan: 4.95M
Chabot: 5M (9.5M next year)
McAvoy: 4.9M
Dermott: 1.5M

I am not suggesting Dermott is the equal to any of these players, but for a guy who has played as many games as he has, with the partners he has, who still has room to grow, has proved capable on the 3rd pair and costs what he does...

 

[Leaf Rocket]

He’s been overrated just like Percy was. Nothing more than a 3rd pairing player.

no where close comparison.