Toronto Maple Leafs Can Wait To Acquire Defensemen

The Toronto Maple Leafs would be wise to be patient with their defense.

Despite adding the best free agent available, the Toronto Maple Leafs still feature a lineup in need of improving their blue line.

Although John Tavares has turned the Maple Leafs into a true Stanley Cup contender, the common belief is the team is still a top-four defenseman away from being a Stanley Cup champion. However, the club shouldn’t feel any rush in trying to find the missing piece on the back end. There’s plenty of time to try out options within the organization.

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The Leafs have several fascinating options they can look at. Expect to see a revolving door of players such as Justin Holl, Andreas Borgman, Martin Marincin, Calle Rosen, and Connor Carrick during the first weeks of the regular season. Each player will get an opportunity to earn a job with the Maple Leafs. The club will likely rotate players in and out until something works or the Leafs realize it won’t work.

In the event none of those players are able to capture a permanent spot with the Maple Leafs, only then will Toronto begin to look for options outside of the organization.

One player who will have a permanent spot and is expected to take another step in his development this season is Travis Dermott. Dermott was the Marlies’ best defenseman in their run to the Calder Cup after returning to the AHL once the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs.

He looked like a man playing amongst boys once he put the Marlies sweater back on after 37 regular season games with the Maple Leafs, plus seven grueling playoff games.

One of the biggest reasons Toronto isn’t concerned about acquiring a top-four defenseman is because there’s belief Dermott could be the player to take that role. The 21-year-old was impossible to take out of the lineup after his call-up to the Maple Leafs.

Dermott got better and more confident with each game. As the best defenseman during the AHL playoffs, he displayed excellent skating, puck-moving, and the type of offensive skills needed by a top-four defender.

When he was called up midseason last year, Dermott was playing third-pairing minutes while playing behind offensive-defensemen Jake Gardiner and Morgan Reilly. It was difficult to truly showcase how great his offensive talents were while playing limited minutes and being paired with the telephone pole known as Roman Polak, who has since signed with the Dallas Stars.

If Dermott is able to earn a bigger role out of training camp and show what he displayed during the AHL playoffs, then the Maple Leafs search for a top-4 defenseman could already be over.

Until then, expect the Maple Leafs to give every Marlies defenseman from the Calder Cup team a chance to earn an NHL job. Once one player struggles, expect to see the next one in line get their opportunity. If all happen to fail then, it’ll be time to surrender prospects and draft picks for a trade deadline acquisition.

Toronto knows their offense can carry the club to a successful regular season which is why the club is in no rush to trade for a defenseman. They’ll exhaust the options within the organization and then they’ll decide what the club is willing to give up in acquiring a defenseman for a playoff run.