that's a mixed bag of names there with a number of different contexts...but it's not really if he can that I'm wondering. of course he can.
I'd like to see him play another year at the level he was at last season before I decide where he ranks. if that's who he is going forward, then he should be playing more than 21:30 this season.
but really, I was thinking more of our other 3 22 minute defencemen, none of whom should be playing that much.
I think our easiest and best bang for the buck improvement is to ensure we have a very good 3rd pairing next season. if we can't bolster the top 2, then at least making sure we have a 5/6 unit that can soak up more minutes would pay off in a number of a ways. Polak out is a great start. giving Dermott another 2 or more minutes would be another good step.
You think the difference between him looking like a fringe top 10 defender in the league against elite competition all night, all year and not is a couple extra shifts against lesser competition?
I'd argue that Gardiner should be playing more and the other two way less, but okay.
This I agree with sort of. Dermott should be worked into a top 4 role by the all star break imo. I get not throwing him into it immediately, but he's better, a lot better than either Zaitsev or Hainsey, side of the ice be damned. Ease him in with (expanded, as you've said) 3rd pairing usage but if he looks like he's handling it well in the first 4-6 weeks of the season, up the lineup he goes for a taste of big boy minutes and usage.
no, I'm saying he'll have to play more than 1 year at that level before I say "ok, this is who he is"
If nothing else changes, then yes. but I've seen enough unevenness from Gardiner that I'd rather move him.
yeah exactly, the idea is he replaces bipolar Gardiner. maybe not immediately, but hopefully by the end of the season so we aren't tempted to throw big money at Jake.
At this point, now that it's becoming apparent that a top-pairing RHD isn't likely to fall from the sky this summer and skate alongside Rielly for this coming season, a Rielly-Gardiner #1 pairing does seem to be our best option at this point. They've played together a bunch of times before, and have done extremely well in short samples. It'd help alleviate the log-jam at LHD, and avoid giving first-pairing minutes to a defenseman that's really not suited for it (Zaitsev, Hainsey). And after that top-pairing, you could easily slot every defenseman into their natural positions.I actually wouldn't mind us trying Rielly-Jake as a 23-24 mpg top pairing, and sliding Dermott into a 19-20mpg 2nd pairing role with whichever of Zaitsev or Hainsey is playing the best. But yeah, either way we need to know if Dermott is ready for big boy minutes by the end of the year. He replaces Jake pretty seamlessly if he's ready.
I like this idea too. And it's one that Pat Quinn used to employ with great success when he was in Toronto. Quinn still did give PK minutes to pluggers & 4th line guys, but he also mixed in his stars too. Sundin & Mogilny, for example, averaged about 1:30 of short-handed ice-time per game during their time as Leafs under Quinn's watch.I'd like to see some of our star players on the PK. Boston does this with Bergeron/Marchand very nicely.
I'm not worried about age. Morrissey (age 22), McAvoy (20), Rielly (23), Trouba (23), Provorov (20), Werenski (20), Jones (23), Dotchin (23) all played the toughest minutes for some pretty good teams last year. I don't think Dermott's age or experience is prohibitive.
Wouldn't shock me at all if Dermott ended up being the Leafs 2nd best defensman this year.
It shouldn't be understated just how good Dermott was this year. He had an unbelievable season and is clearly capable of handling a far more difficult role than he did last year IMO. And it was really his play without the puck that drove it.
Carrick is a guy who was good in sheltered minutes and can maybe handle a bigger role. Dermott is something entirely different.