Oct 28, 2019
Defensive issues? Help on the way for Leafs
As Kristen Shilton writes, Maple Leafs blueliner Travis Dermott is cleared to return after off-season shoulder surgery as Toronto continues to sort through defensive issues in the midst of a 6-5-2 start.
TORONTO – Six months removed from having off-season shoulder surgery, Travis Dermott is finally ready to make his season debut for the Maple Leafs when they face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
“I think it’s probably the longest I've been away from the game I've loved most of my life,” Dermott said after Toronto’s practice on Monday. “So being back, being in the situation now where I'm cleared to go medically, it’s what I've been thinking about and dreaming about. It’s really exciting.”
Sitting out the Leafs first 13 games of the season certainly wasn’t easy for Dermott, but it was necessary to address a lingering shoulder problem.
The 23-year-old missed 14 games last season after initially injuring the shoulder in late February, getting back in time for the Leafs’ final four regular-season games and seven playoff contests in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Boston.
Dermott finished that campaign with 17 points in 64 games, while averaging 17:18 of ice time. He was expected to take on a larger role in 2019-20 with the anticipated departure of Jake Gardiner shaking up Toronto’s blueline.
But in early May the Leafs announced Dermott would be going under the knife, impacting his availability to start the season. The whole scenario was admittedly frustrating, but Dermott can see how positive a road it was now that he’s on the other side.
“It’s really made me more of a pro,” he said. “It's easy to stay on top of your body when you're just going out to play the game every day with your friends. When I had to come in and be told that I can't go on the ice and I have to go in the gym, it was a lot, but I think it was a great learning curve. As a young guy, it’s good that I went through it and hopefully I can stay on top of things and it doesn't happen again. But I think I've learned a lot of stuff throughout this process.”
Dermott said all the off-ice workouts have put his conditioning level at an all-time high, but whether that translates into game conditioning remains to be seen. What Dermott hopes will help with that is the ample practice time he’s been able to clock over the last couple weeks while waiting on the green light to return.
Having Dermott back in action should be a welcome boost for the Leafs, who have been sorting out their own defensive issues in the midst of a 6-5-2 start to the season. Toronto has allowed the third-most goals in the NHL (44), and is averaging 32.8 shots against per game, the eighth most in the league.
Based on Monday’s practice, Dermott will be sliding onto Toronto’s third pairing to start, right beside his former Toronto Marlies defence partner and good friend Justin Holl. That alone is enough to energize Dermott, who well remembers when he and Holl played their first NHL game together on Jan. 31, 2018 and both scored their first NHL goals.
“Pretty much my whole pro hockey career has been with Hollsy,” Dermott said. “Whether he's my partner or not, he's always been right there. We've been growing the chemistry on and off the ice, so if I made my comeback with Hollsy, I think that'd be pretty special for me.”
“He's a great player and he's easy to play with,” added Holl. “He's got good vision, he can find me all over the ice and I hope to find him as well. He’s really good on the offensive blueline too and good on breakouts. There are really not a lot of bad things you can say about him.”
Once the Leafs make it official and activate Dermott off long-term injured reserve, they’ll have to make a corresponding roster move, most likely sending Kevin Gravel back to the Marlies.
As with any player coming back from a lengthy absence, Dermott isn’t expecting to be at his best right away, and neither is head coach Mike Babcock. But as the Leafs navigate a stretch where they’ve lost four of six, it’s enough just to have Dermott back up and running.
“He's got unbelievable edges, can pass the puck,” Babcock said. “[But] we've seen guys jumping into the regular season when they haven't been here, and how it usually goes. He knows that. The number one job for a defenceman is to keep it out of your net, and so that's going to be the challenge for him. But getting Dermy back is a help, and with a more balanced schedule, we should be able to play harder.”