2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ left defense at season pause

With the 2020 NHL season caught in the midst of an unprecedented pause, we take the opportunity to grade the Toronto Maple Leafs’ campaign thus far. Today’s topic: Evaluating the team’s defense.

Welcome to the fifth installment of a seven-part series on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2019-20 season. Caught in the midst of the hockey world’s unprecedented pause, now is the time to reflect on what may very well go down as one of the more dynamic-altering campaigns — for better or for worse — in club history.

Largely hyped as a potential season for the books, Toronto’s current run has been defined by a quality of inconstancy. The team has established itself as the NHL’s foremost Jekyll and Hyde organization, with the line between pretender and contender for Lord Stanley’s trophy growing increasingly thin throughout the progression of games.

As such, questions continue to be raised about the state of the franchise. Are the Maple Leafs actually in a serious position to compete for glory? Will the present campaign ultimately become yet another disappointment? And who bears responsibility for the club’s shortcomings?

Over the course of this series, we shall unpack some of the aforementioned questions by grading many facets of the organization. For the purpose of conducting a thorough review, we will only report on players who have skated in more than 10 games in a Maple Leafs uniform across the 2019-20 season. Consequently, the likes of Pontus Aberg, Adam Brooks, Kevin Gravel, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Egor Korshkov, Denis Malgin, Mason Marchment and Calle Rosen shall be excluded from consideration.

With that, let’s move on to today’s topic: Evaluating the left side of the team’s blue line.

Travis Dermott

Games Played: 56
Goals: 4
Assists: 7
Points: 11

Travis Dermott’s tenure with the Maple Leafs has primarily been marked by a quality of hope. The left-shot defender’s capacity for strong two-way play has earned him a reputation as one of the faces of the future for the club’s blue line — a fine quality to boast during a time at which faith in the team’s back end remains up in the air.

Unfortunately, Dermott’s 2019-20 campaign was often trying in nature. The 23-year-old started his season in late October upon recovering from surgery that he had received the previous spring. In 56 games played, Dermott notched four goals and seven assists for 11 points — during the course of which he floated across each of Toronto’s defensive units.

Despite being known for his confidence and poise with the puck, Dermott often lacked such qualities across the team’s most recent campaign. Amidst the pressures of a contract year, the defenseman struggled to usher forth a steady degree of offensive output, while at times looking out of place in his own zone.

I remain a fan of Dermott’s game and continue to hold true to the idea that he may very well serve as one of the pillars of the Maple Leafs’ back end in the future. His last ten matchups or so were particularly strong and several of his shortcomings may have been reflective of a tumultuous time for both the club and the player. Look for Dermott to be an prime candidate for a bridge deal in the summer ahead.

Grade: C+