You can never have enough defenders, right? Apparently not as the Edmonton Oilers are reportedly about to bring another NHL-calibre defender in for training camp. Tuesday afternoon on Edmonton Sports Talk, host Dustin Nielson reported that the Oilers would be bringing in Travis Dermott on a PTO.
This report was further corroborated by Frank Seravalli, who added that the veteran defender would be joining the team for captain’s skates this week with a formal PTO to follow.
In the evening, Sportsnet confirmed that Dermott would be joining the Oilers on a PTO
At this point, Dermott is a well-travelled defender who has struggled to stick around in any organization he has been a part of. The once highly touted prospect had a promising start to his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with 13 points in 37 games in his rookie season, but has failed to develop further than that as his games played and points totals have dropped to nearly nothing.
Dermott did struggle with injuries during his time with the Vancouver Canucks, missing a couple of lengthy periods during the season and was limited to just 11 games in 2022–23, but joined the Arizona Coyotes for last season where he played 50 games, recording seven points.
Of note during his time with the Coyotes, Dermott was the first player to openly defy the NHL’s misguided attempt to ban Pride-themed stick tape, leading to a review and eventual rescinding of the ban.
Would Travis Dermott fit with the Edmonton Oilers?
It appears as though bringing Dermott in is solely to expand the competition among the defenders. Although he is a left-handed shot, he has played the right side regularly throughout his career. Since that is the biggest hole on the Oilers’ roster, having more competition and player styles to try and fill the role or enhance others’ play through the training camp battle is a reasonable and cheap solution.
Dermott is still relatively young, at 27 years old, and should be hitting his prime years. He, unfortunately, has not quite lived up to his full potential from his draft year. But, there is always the possibility of him being a late bloomer or finally putting injury issues behind him and entering this season 100% healthy.
He will be entering a competition with Ty Emberson, Josh Brown, Connor Carrick, and likely Max Wanner and Phil Kemp for the last few defender spots on the roster.
Dermott’s skillset in the past had leaned towards offensive, although that has yet to translate to the NHL level, but the instincts provide a different approach than the other players competing for the role. In the past on a somewhat similarly built Maple Leafs team focused towards offence, he was never quite able to retain a regular spot in the lineup or flourish offensively.
Although he does not project to be a roster player or move the needle, a low-risk PTO for a defender who can play where there is a massive hole in the lineup could prove to be a high-reward play.
