Travis Dermott – acquired at the deadline last season – has one year remaining on his current deal. If he is still with the Vancouver Canucks at season’s start, they need to know who he is.
“Our pro scouting and analytics departments were excited.”
Learn more about our newest defenceman, Travis Dermott, and what he brings to the #Canucks blue line.
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— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 23, 2022
Finding Space for Travis Dermott
The Vancouver Canucks are entering the 2022 NHL entry draft with the 80th overall selection. That’s not exactly news, as that is what’s expected from their 18th place finish leaguewide. What is news is how they got it.
Back in 2020, Canucks General Manager Jim Benning made a move fans were clamouring for: taking advantage of a team in a salary-cap crunch. With the Vegas Golden Knights desperate to make space, they sent Nate Schmidt to Vancouver for the Canucks’ third-round pick. Excellent move so far. Vegas then sent that pick and Nate Holden to the Ottawa Senators for Evgenii Dadonov. Yes, that Evgenii Dadonov.
Vancouver then got their pick back when they sent Travis Hamonic to Ottawa. So what does this have to do with Travis Dermott? Well.
Schmidt, unfortunately, didn’t quite work out with the Canucks. They sent him to the Winnipeg Jets for their third-round pick, which went to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Travis Dermott. And as things currently stand, Dermott is likely the third pair defenceman on the left side for Vancouver. Or maybe not.
Squeeze ‘Em In!
Vancouver’s defence is a bit of a mess right now. Not so much for skill – though they can always use an upgrade – but for fit. Pretty much every team in the league wants a right-handed defender for the right side and a lefty for the left. But without a serious shakeup, Vancouver might not really get that option.
Quinn Hughes and Luke Schenn currently work well together, as do Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers as a second pair. Judging on skill alone, the left-handed Dermott is next. On the right is… highly-regarded prospect Jack Rathbone, maybe? But Rathbone is also left-handed and doesn’t have any experience on his off side. Dermott does and can slide across, though the coaching staff will likely try other configurations to move him back again.
Hughes isn’t moving. Ekman-Larsson isn’t moving. Rathbone is a player the team wants to see in the league as soon as possible. Jett Woo clearly* isn’t ready yet. Fan favourite Kyle Burroughs is a fine callup, but that’s about as far as it goes. And even if Myers gets traded, that only exacerbates the void on the right side. So right now Dermott is the obvious choice, probably beside Rathbone.
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Der Home for Travis Dermott
This assumes that Tucker Poolman is unable to play when the 2022-23 season starts. Concussions are notoriously difficult things to get a handle on, with the only known cure being rest. And that supposed cure is wildly inconsistent from person to person. If he regains his health, the Poolman is the obvious choice to start on Dermott’s right. That would be excellent news for all concerned – but brings up the question of Jack Rathbone again.
So who should play with Dermott: an older veteran or an exciting rookie? Salary could be a factor, as Rathbone is going to be a lot cheaper than Poolman’s $2.5 million cap hit. And believe it or not, Poolman, despite his age, isn’t really a veteran in the classic sense. He’s only played 160 NHL games. That’s still a bunch more than Rathbone’s 17 over two seasons.
Poolman has decent AHL production, but that’s where it’s mostly stayed. His contract also runs for three more seasons, and it’s a tough one to move. The team might well keep Poolman for fear of the sunk cost fallacy – they spent too much to get him and now are afraid of looking bad if they quit on him. And he’s right-handed.
The better skater, though, is Rathbone and it’s not even close. He’s not as physical as Poolman, and Dermott’s hardly a fierce creature himself. If the two are paired, they are going to rely heavily on puck movement and positioning. As little time in the defensive end as possible, thanks much! He scored zero points in 9 NHL games last season but made the AHL Rookie All-Stars on the strength of 10 goals and 40 points in 39 games.
Left or Right
If Travis Dermott isn’t known as a particularly strong defender, then matching him will Poolman makes sense. They both stay on their natural sides, and it’s not like Poolman is a complete no-show for points. He’s got some mobility and would be “the responsible one” to let Dermott push the puck forward.
But we suspect the team would rather see Rathbone get his shot. If he and Dermott can click, the potential reward is so much higher than with a traditional “Stop-and-Go” pairing. Putting Dermott on his off-side shouldn’t be much of a hardship for him, but he needs to start producing to earn his keep. Matching him with a speedy opportunist like Rathbone can work for both him and the team.
Dermott’s career beginning in Toronto was erratic. Expected to be a scoring leader, he followed a solid rookie year of 13 points in 37 games with a slightly disappointing 4 goals and 17 points in 64 the next year. Higher expectations on an improving Leafs club – one with plenty off-ice drama – was a difficult combination.
End Result is a New Beginning
Dermott has never quite been able to find his groove at the NHL level, though his talent is unquestioned. He is an NHL defenceman, but what kind? And frankly, Vancouver is the perfect place for him to find out in 2022-23. He’s a smart player but hasn’t been able to focus on either offence or defence specifically. Obviously, anyone in the NHL needs some of both. But for skaters at the bottom of the lineup – bottom-pair defence, fourth-line forwards – the easiest way to a long career is to specialize.
Dermott can win a spot with offence. The Canucks could really use some added bite behind Hughes. But they also have plenty of room to improve their defence and especially the penalty kill. He just needs to convince coach Bruce Boudreau he can do either one. And on this team, in the final year of his contract, Travis Dermott will get his chance.
*And disappointingly. We want that “Woo!” Canucks jersey, man! Come on!
