INSIDE JOB
Travis Dermott makes the case for Leafs D with no outside help on the horizon and season with high hopes approaching,
Travis Dermott joined a group of Leafs defencemen — mostly AHLers and prospects — during a day of drills and skating before the Labour Day weekend.
He was the only regular from last year’s defensive corps on the ice at the MasterCard Centre on Friday. Timothy Liljegren, the 2017 first-rounder who has a strong chance at an NHL job this season, and Igor Ozhiganov, newly signed from the KHL, were the only other two blueliners in the group who could be considered candidates for Leaf jobs this season.
But the pressure of job hunting seemed a million miles away as Dermott and about 20 others enjoyed a work session. That will change soon. The signing of star forward John Tavares drew most of the attention this summer, while the Leafs blue line, and the players challenging to join that group, remained essentially the same. After two years of exiting in the first round of the playoffs, there have been questions about whether the defence is strong enough to carry the Leafs deeper into the post-season.
Dermott strongly believes in the current group.
“You try to not think of that stuff much,” he said, standing outside the Leafs dressing room, still half in his uniform and pads. “It’s like a little question every time, who should the team pick up, and they (critics) start handing out names …
“I think if there’s improvements to be made, then we can do it ourselves.”
The top four should feature a repeat of Morgan Rielly, Ron Hainsey, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev. Dermott will be in the group where the improvement must come from, with the likes of Ozhiganov, Connor Carrick and maybe Liljegren.
There’s another raft of defencemen just behind that includes Justin Holl, Andrew Nielsen, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen and Martin Marincin. And Jordan Subban looked tremendous at the BioSteel camp this week, and could turn heads at the Leafs’ camp, which opens Sept. 13 with medicals.
The Leafs should have a mostly young blue line, with plenty of excellent skaters who can move the puck and help an excellent group of forwards control play.
Size and physicality are not in abundance, but Dermott believes those two details have waned in significance in the current NHL.
“You look at the way the league is evolving, and the big, six-foot-five defenceman is not what everyone is looking for anymore,” Dermott said. “With our forward group this year, you are gonna want to get the puck to them as quick as possible. They will be quick, and they can score, so our defence is going to be mobile and make those first passes as quick as possible, get the puck to the forwards.
“I think we did a good job of that last year, but as good as we were, you can always get better. The more we get the puck to the forwards, the more chances they will get to score goals.”
Part of the equation for the Leafs’ blue line is the fact all of them, save for Ozhiganov, have had a year or two under defensive coach D.J. Smith, who was voted in a player’s poll as the assistant coach best suited to be an NHL head coach.
Dermott, who had 13 points in 37 games with the Leafs last season, even turned the analysis onto himself, saying he is a good example of how the defence can improve.
“For me, the main thing is when it comes to the playoffs, just be ready to go,” Dermott said. “I had a tough time finding my game (against Boston last spring). I came around, but you have to make sure that doesn’t happen in the playoffs, and at the beginning of the season.
“It was a good experience there, and now I have pick right up from that, be ready to go right from the start. I think that’s key for all of us.”