(Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Everybody knows that the Maple Leafs are set on offense for years to come. They have an embarrassment of riches between John Tavares, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and others. It’s also no secret that their defensive corps isn’t on the same level as their forward group. While they still may look to add a piece or two via trade, especially on the right side, they should take a long look at Travis Dermott, whose performance when called up last year showed a lot of promise.

A big problem for the Leafs’ defensemen is that they attempt a league-leading amount of stretch passes, but convert at a league-worst rate. Even though this homerun mentality is the right one, as pointed out by Mike Kelly here, their efficiency is still underwhelming. Five of their players from last season (Roman Polak, Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Nikita Zaitsev, and Ron Hainsey) finished in the bottom 15 in stretch pass accuracy.

These weaknesses just so happen to be strengths for Dermott. The 2nd round pick in 2015 played 37 games with the Leafs last season and the results were very encouraging. He completed 70.5% of his stretch passes while taking 3.66 attempts per-20, both numbers being top 30 in the league. This helped him rank 2nd on the team behind only Morgan Rielly in possession driving plays per-20. He also ranked 34th in the league (team best) in turnover rate among blueliners. Even better, his contributions in pushing the puck up the ice did not come at the expense of his defensive performance. He ranked 2nd on the team in defensive plays per-20 and 3rd in the NHL in entry denial rate.

What to Expect This Season

Dermott’s biggest roadblock is a crowded group on the left side of Toronto’s blueline. As of now, Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner are ahead of him on the depth chart. This leaves him on the bottom pair, likely playing with Connor Carrick. This could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the young defenseman. Being on the third pair means he likely won’t face the top competition on a nightly basis, especially if last year’s usage is any indication. The duo of Dermott and Carrick played some of the easiest minutes on the team last season. They were 9th in strength of opposition among the 11 Leafs defensive pairs to play 100+ minutes. This could help Dermott show off his passing skills and his 14.6% turnover rate, lowest of any player to suit up for Toronto last season. 

Dermott isn’t a flashy name, but his style of play seems to be a perfect fit in Toronto’s system. If he continues to perform the way he did last season, he could force Mike Babcock’s hand and work his way up the lineup, either taking over Gardiner’s spot on the second pair or even moving to the right side over Zaitsev or Hainsey. At the very least, he could be an in-house upgrade to the bottom pair who still has a couple of years left on his rookie-scale contract. With big paydays coming for Nylander, Marner, and Matthews, the Leafs need to find some bargains. Dermott could be part of the solution, both on the ice and in the budget.