The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a one-year, $775k contract on October 8. Dermott was signed to a PTO by the Oilers on September 13. The left-handed, blueliner is a 27-year-old, who hails from Newmarket, Ontario.
The Oilers are slowly accruing Erie Otters alumni from the Connor McDavid era. Connor Brown, Kris Koblauch as coach, and now Travis Dermott who played there from the 2013–14 season to the 2015–16 season.
Dermott’s playing career
As mentioned above, Dermott was drafted by the Erie Otters in the 2013 OHL draft and played there for three seasons, including two with McDavid. He ended his Junior career with 116 points in 179 games and was drafted 34th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL draft.
After being drafted, Dermott returned to the Otters for one more year, then was brought up to Toronto’s AHL team, the Marlies for a season and a half, spending 37 games in the NHL in his second year.
Dermott’s career in Toronto lasted for five seasons, though he never truly found his stride, scoring 52 points in 251 games. He was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks at 2021–22 trade deadline. Dermott lost serious time to a concussion in his first full season with the Canucks, only playing 11 games total in the NHL.
Dermott was signed by the Arizona Coyotes to a one-year, $800k deal for the 2023–24 season putting up seven points in 50 games. This was his last stop before signing with the Oilers just three days ago.
Dermott’s international play
Dermott has represented Canada once, at the 2016 World Junior Championship, scoring two points in five games, though Canada fell to the host, Finland, in the quarter finals.
Career statistics
Dermott has never been considered a offensive threat in the NHL, but is a solid defender with decent blocks and above average hitting.
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | ATOI | BLK | HIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | TOR | 37 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 15:60 | 36 | 48 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 64 | 4 | 13 | 17 | -5 | 22 | 17:18 | 57 | 100 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 56 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 37 | 17:19 | 58 | 76 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 51 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -1 | 19 | 13:13 | 35 | 44 |
| 2021-22 | 2TM | 60 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 15:20 | 46 | 55 |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 43 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 14:43 | 28 | 43 |
| 2021-22 | VAN | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 16:54 | 18 | 12 |
| 2022-23 | VAN | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -4 | 2 | 13:45 | 10 | 10 |
| 2023-24 | ARI | 50 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -14 | 26 | 17:17 | 64 | 52 |
| 2024-25 | EDM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 16:06 | 0 | 1 |
| NHL | NHL | 330 | 16 | 46 | 62 | 14 | 128 | 16:03 | 306 | 386 |
| NHL | NHL | 82 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 32 | 16:03 | 76 | 96 |
Player profile
Travis Dermott, though scoring well enough in junior hockey, is not considered an offensive defenceman. At 6’0”, 202 lbs, he is a decent size and a decent skater. He is a stay-at-home defenceman who has played a bottom-six role for the majority of his career.
Strengths
As a defensive defenceman, Dermott is tasked with always being on the right side of the puck, which he is able to do thanks to good hockey intelligence. In his draft year scouting reports, he was lauded as a good skater, capable in one-on-ones, often first to the puck, and for initiating the breakout with a good first pass. He also quarterbacked the power play for the Otters and though he hasn’t had the chance to do this in the NHL, it is good to know he has the experience, as well as the poise and patience needed to run a power-play.
As is common for defensive defenceman, Dermott prides his game on hitting, where he consistently ranks above average among defenseman over 500 minutes played. Though not as prolific, he is a capable shot blocker.
While playing with Toronto, Dermott was generally able to keep his on-ice Corsi %, shots for %, goals for %, and scoring chances % above 50%, which is a great accomplishment for a low pairing defenceman and this will be what the Oilers need most from him.
Weaknesses
While, as mentioned above, his on-ice possession metrics were solid with Toronto, they did drop below 50% in recent years with Vancouver and Arizona. As these were teams that were struggling at the time, this is not such a surprise but Edmonton will look to Dermott improve in this area as the Oilers need defensive stability.
The most notable weakness in the stats table above are his plus-minus, which has been solid at times, but has been sub par at others. While this is likely to change on a high powered offensive team like Edmonton, it is an area that he could improve upon. Though Dermott has been a solid shot blocker in the past, this is a way that he could take the next step, improving his plus-minus and his on-ice possession stats.
Where does Dermott fit into the Oilers lineup?
With the addition of Dermott, the Oilers have seven defencemen rostered. While Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, and Brett Kulak are essentially guaranteed their positions, there could be some movement between Emberson, Troy Stecher, and Dermott, with the main competition being between Stecher and Dermott. Dermott started the first game of the season two nights ago, playing right defenceman with Kulak on the left. However since Dermott is actually left-handed, and Stecher is right, switching them out would be a very natural choice. I would expect Stecher to draw into the lineup at some point of the season.
Dermott played last night on the penalty kill, complementing Darnell Nurse.
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