Leafs blue line already struck by injury

Ouch… can Tavares play D?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Leafs blue line already struck by injury
Zuma Press

In case you missed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs made their preseason debut last night against the Ottawa Senators in Lucan, Ontario as part of Kraft Hockeyville, a joint promo partnership between the NHL and the Kraft corporation. The Leafs came out on top last night 4-1, thanks in large part two goals from superstar John Tavares. While all eyes were on Tavares and linemate Mitch Marner, but another key player for the Leafs stood out last night and that’s 21 year old defenseman Travis Dermott

The sophomore blue liner had an assist and a penalty in last night’s victory over the Sens, but according to a report from Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, he suffered an injury that would force him out of the lineup for an undermined amount of time.

Check it out:

Leafs’ Travis Dermott is day to day with a shoulder issue, per Babcock.

Ouch.. that’s not good. For those not aware, Dermott suffered a shoulder injury during the AHL Toronto Marlies Calder Cup championship run, as well. In fact, the injury sustained in June forced him to miss Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final. No word yet on whether this latest injury is related, or whether it’s a new injury entirely. But… if we know the Toronto media at all, we’re bound to get an answer as soon as possible.

The 21 year old Dermott suited up for 37 games last season with the Leafs, scoring one goal and 13 points. It’s expected that the youngster will take a step forward this season and could even see some power play time, provided he manages to stay out of head coach Mike Babcock’s dog house. Babcock keeps Dermott on a pretty short leash, but it’s evident that the blue liner is just oozing with skill and offensive ability. The former 2nd round pick (34th overall) of the Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has seven goals and 42 points in 87 career AHL games. If the kid manages to get some regular ice time alongside Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner or Nikita Zaitsev, there's a very good chance that he hits the 30 point plateau in the NHL next season.

Source: Luke Fox