Former Maple Leafs D-Man Travis Dermott Signs PTO With Edmonton Oilers

It's been speculated for a couple of days now. Tuesday night it became official: unrestricted free agent defenseman Travis Dermott has signed a professional tryout offer (PTO) with the Edmonton Oilers.

Defenceman Travis Dermott has signed a PTO with the Edmonton Oilers.
First report @frank_seravalli
— Mark Spector🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@SportsnetSpec) September 10, 2024

The Oilers have some work to do to retool their blueline, after losing Philip Broberg (offer sheet to St. Louis) and Cody Ceci (trade to San Jose) this summer, as well as Vincent Desharnais to free agency.

Adding Dermott is a logical move for the Oilers, as both head coach Kris Knoblauch and captain Connor McDavid are very familiar with the d-man, having been his coach and teammate, respectively, in junior with the Erie Otters of the OHL. He was also represented as an agent in the past by current Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson.

Dermott will get a chance at camp to win a depth job for the Oilers, and he'll also be reunited with his old buddy Zach Hyman from their Toronto Maple Leafs days. Dermott spent the first four-and-a-half years of his career with the Buds, registering a respectable plus/minus rating of +28 in his 15:50 of ice time per night.

While being a regular in the top six on the Leafs back line in his first few years, he was relegated to more of a depth role near the end of his Toronto run, then spent a year and a half in the Vancouver Canucks organization, where he only played 28 games total, mainly due to concussion problems.

Dermott, 27, spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes, playing 50 games, recording seven points and a -14 in 17:17 minutes per game.