Dermott keeps his job — for now
Keefe says team wants to ease the adjustment of blueliner Lehtonen
If there were a couple of storylines that dominated the Maple Leafs’ off- season, they involved Travis Dermott and Mikko Lehtonen.
Dermott was a restricted free agent who accepted his qualifying offer after a so- so season. When the Leafs bolstered their defence by adding T. J. Brodie, Zach Bogosian and Lehtonen, Dermott was deemed to be the odd man out.
Lehtonen’s signing was highly praised. He is a gifted, puckmoving defenceman from the KHL who is in mid- career and plays a style of defence the Leafs brain trust covets.
But after training camp, and counting down the hours to the start of the season, Dermott appears to have retained his job on the Leafs’ blue- line, and Lehtonen appears destined for the taxi squad.
“We're going to take a little step back with Mikko and give him more time to watch and get a feel for the league,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “( It means) more time to work on some things directly in practice and make some adjustments there.”
Keefe suggested the team might have made some mistakes rushing European defencemen into the league in the past. He didn’t name them, but Igor Ozhiganov and Andreas Borgman fit that bill.
“We like a lot of things about ( Lehtonen),” said Keefe. “Certainly the power play, we feel like he's ready right now to contribute there.
“We're playing off of some of the history of players in this situation that have come into our organization and ( were) put in right away, and that's coming off of a more traditional exhibition season where they get a lot of games to find their way.”
But of course, that’s just for now. “I don’t know if any decision that was made is ( what) we would describe as final,” Keefe said. “It's going to be a fluid situation. We did have to make some decisions. It's just partially just to get our numbers down and managing the roster.”
The Leafs appear to have decided on the 26 players — 21 on the main roster, five on the taxi squad — that they will start the season with.
> Lehtonen, defenceman Rasmus Sandin and forward Nick Robertson are expected to head to the taxi squad.
> Forwards Travis Boyd and Adam Brooks were placed on waivers and will join the taxi squad if they clear.
> Goaltender Michael Hutchinson, defencemen Martin Marincin and Calle Rosen, and forwards Kenny Agostino and Nic Petan were placed on waivers for the purpose of being loaned to the AHL Marlies.
> Defencemen Mac Hollowell, Teemu Kivihalme and Timothy Liljegren, and forwards Joey Anderson, Justin Brazeau, Rourke Chartier, Pierre Engvall, Tyler Gaudet, and Scott Sabourin were loaned to the Marlies outright.
Given the situation with waivers, the taxi squad and the cap, there will be a lot of red tape behind the machinations of the season.
Notably not on waivers is third goalie Aaron Dell, who will be the 21st player on the Leafs’ roster. Teams are allowed 23, plus a four- to six- man taxi squad, but the Leafs can only fit 21 on their main roster under the cap.
“We've had some discussions about whether or not we utilize ( Dell) at different times to back up here in the early going,” Keefe said. “We're going to continue to discuss that. He's a good goalie and we like having the depth at the position.”
Protecting Dell from waivers meant putting Lehtonen on the taxi squad rather than having him as a seventh defenceman. It also mean Dermott shouldn’t feel too comfortable with his bottom- pairing role. Keefe said the 24- year- old has a lot to work on.
“I would really like to see Travis really latch on to his strengths,” said Keefe, suggesting he concentrate on going back for the puck to start breakouts, his defensive zone puck pressure to create loose pucks, and his gap control ( making it hard for opponents to get in the Leafs’ end).
“If he focuses on those three, a lot of really positive things can come into this game. Just focusing on that, and being reliable in those areas, will be the key for Dermott.”