The Toronto Maple Leafs made some long awaited moves to add to their defensive corps earlier this month with the trades for right-handers Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci, but only have a one-year window before GM Kyle Dubas has to make some difficult choices.
Barrie, Ceci and veteran Jake Muzzin are all unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2019-20 season and Travis Dermott’s entry-level contract expires, which means that Dubas will have to figure out how many free agents he can get under contract prior to next July.
Dermott is in a completely different position than the three pending UFA’s, since he will not have arbitration rights for another two years and the Leafs have some control over him for the next four seasons, but the 22-year-old’s current situation might provide Dubas a good opportunity to be proactive on his second contract.
The Newmarket, ON native had 13 points in 37 games as a rookie and 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 64 games last season, but suffered a shoulder injury just after the trade deadline that required surgical repair after Toronto was eliminated from the playoffs.
The recovery time is expected to be six months, which would have Dermott miss all training camp and at least a month of the regular season.
There are some that believe that Dermott will be able to step into the puck-carrying role vacated by Jake Gardiner and not make the same defensive faux pas as the ex-Leaf. Were Toronto to be forward-looking and attempt to get the young blueliner locked up on a long-term contract, his low point totals up to this point would give Dubas a favorable negotiating position.
If the Leafs feel he will grow into a top-four blueliner, a long-term contract in the $4-to-4.5 Million range would be a great value down the line. If there is some resistance and Dermott’s representatives want a short-term deal, his numbers thus far would give Toronto a chance to get him on an economical bridge that would enable Dubas to re-sign one of the veterans.
Waiting until next summer to get Dermott signed is a roll of the dice, since a productive campaign will increase his leverage to get a higher salary and as the William Nylander and Mitch Marner situations have shown, a failure of being proactive can be costly in the end.
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