Where is Travis Dermott?

"We want to win the cup next year? Let's get Derek Ryan, Greg Pateryn and Luke Glendening!" -Kyle Dubas 2018

I am mostly kidding. It would be nice to get another (good-ish) center or two, but what about Aaltonen? He should be in the middle. Otherwise, I do not think Pateryn is the addition that we need to the defense. I like the idea of getting Tanev, although a slight bit more incentive might be needed.

I just don’t like getting rid of picks espically first round for a guy that hasn’t played a full season ever. Pateryn is not a second pairing player and I think Derek Ryan is only a fourth line kind of guy but he would be a good addition.

Keep in mind that this would be the line up to start the year, not heading into the playoffs. Decent complementary pieces added but also room for some young players to crack the team.

Aaltonen is unproven at the NHL level. He would have to earn his spot, whether it be at centre or wing. I felt Glendening was needed to help replace the effective PK minutes that will be absent with Komarov departing.

If you followed Pateryn last year, you would realize that he quietly had a strong season, averaging over 19 minutes a night on Dallas’ second pairing, with a plus 6 rating. He also logged the second most minutes of any Dallas player, on their PK unit, which finished the season ranked 14 out of 31 teams. He is a perfect fit beside an offensive partner like Gardiner. He’s a shut down guy that also provides some physicality and strength, which would be welcomed with Polak walking.

The team is seemingly stuck in limbo, until the right defensemen can be brought in to help balance things out.
In order to bring in a top flight guy, some sort of sacrifice will have to be made. A healthy Tanev is a great fit, at a good cost, on a shorter term deal. You’d have to figure next years’ first would be late and the prospect pool is currently in great shape. It could be a better option over flipping a guy like Nylander, which would weaken the offense. Their seems to be depth that could fill in for Tanev should he need games off to stay healthy.

Take a look at Pateryn’s numbers last year with Dallas. It was only one season but he proved to be an effective second pairing guy and a beast on the PK.

Ryan is basically a smaller but faster Bozak, who will likely be more cost effective. He can provide all the same skills that Bozak did (secondary scoring, PP, great at faceoffs, good with puck possession) and averaged the same amount of ice time as Bozak last year (15+ minutes per game). He’s not a fourth line guy.

On the Marlies waiting for an injury to occur. While he is likely NHL ready, with the team’s depth and the fact he’s on an ELC, he starts in the minors. I don’t think it would hurt his development to spend a bit more time in the AHL to master his craft. Maybe management decides to trade Gardiner to recoup a high pick to replace the one sacrificed to pick up Tanev, if Dermott proves to be over- ready, at some point before the deadline. Could be a good idea rather than losing him for nothing like JVR. We Also have Rosen, Borgman and Lilijgren waiting in the wings.