really dont get dermott starting at all

I disagree. He deserves it. He's proved he is an excellent bottom pairing guy. I wished they had traded him, he does not deserve to be a healthy scratch. I was happy when they said they were going to start him.

Dermott cannot go to the taxi squad because he has to clear waivers and would most certainly be claimed.

Lehtonen does not have to clear waivers.

The Leafs are 566K under the cap with a 21 man roster including three goalies. They can't add another defensman's salary without going over the cap on opening night. (Unless they remove a forward, which seems unlikely at this point).

That is why Dermott is in at this point. Hope that clears it up for you.

I just explained why he is starting. Not sure why this is confusing at this point. (That was directed to this vr1995 character).

Really? He's a NHL Dman who plays 17 a game in the past two seasons. A plus player despite been saddled with the worse RHD partners in the past two seasons

should have traded him

Try backing up a comment like that with suggestions of how it would improve things.

That response is some weak sauce.

just has a log jam now, id rather give sandin the minutes, let him get big game action, dermott works his taill off but he makes bad decisions, brought lehtonen over too, just too mnay cooks in the kitchen, you even said yourself that hes in because of how his contract is

and dermott has value still, one of him or holl is going to the kraken next year, id say dermott has more value than holl so why let him go for nothing

Keefe made clear why Dermott was in - Lehtonen was not good enough in camp:

“We think there’s other areas of his game that need a little bit more time. We don’t want to rush him into a situation that he may be not adjusted to here quite yet. So, we’re gonna take our time with that.”

“We’re gonna take a little step back with Mikko and give him more time to watch and get a feel for the league,” Keefe said, “and then also more time to work on some things directly in practice and make some adjustments there. And then, we expect that he obviously will get in at some point and he’s more prepared if that’s the case.”

The write up at The Athletic was also completely correct (except to those who have rose-colored glasses with every free-wallet the team brings in):

"Pick through the scoresheet (was there a scoresheet?) and you might think Lehtonen had a great night."

"Lehtonen had trouble moving the puck cleanly to teammates and occasionally looked a step slow in his own zone."

"Sandin, for one, looked like he belonged in the NHL with his play in the scrimmage. He dished the puck crisply and cleanly in a way that Lehtonen did not. Can Lehtonen handle himself physically in his own zone against NHL-sized competitors?"

It is going to be awesome when the ON Gov refuses to approve the Marlies to play and NHL-ready Sandin goes 19 months without playing a game so the team could 1) play a 27-year-old who couldn't make the bottom pair out of camp (when such other amazing free wallet saviors as Borgman and Oz could even manage to do that) despite having an advantage over everyone else as he played all fall, and 2) so they could play a D who will be picked up for free by the Kraken next year. For the first (and probably only) time the team actually has an appropriate partner to mentor a young prospect into the lineup. Good thing they are wasting the opportunity.

They only have so much cap space available.

Dermott not on the active roster means that Dermott has to pass through waivers. The team was not going to let that happen.

What Keefe says has merit for sure but, make no mistake about it. Dermott is in because the others did not require waivers and he does.

End of story.

I challenge you to create a scenario whereby the Leafs have 12 forwards, (the ones that we know are breaking camp with the team), 3 goalies, 6 defensman AND Dermott in the lineup and still be under the cap. It is not possible at present. That is why Dermott is in and Lehtonen is on the Taxi squad.

I don't need to create any such scenario because the Leafs' do not need to keep 3 goalies on the roster.

You last sentence is absolutely meaningless. As of now, the Leafs are going to leave both Dermot and Holl exposed and likely lose one of them. By your logic, trade Dermot for nothing, and the Leafs still lose Holl in expansion. So the Leafs who are short of NHL depth this season and next will be down two NHL Dmen.

i never said trade dermott for nothing, he would have more value in a trade so trade him and expose holl to the kraken, protect rielly muzz and brodie

next year it should be

rielly
brodie
muzzin
sandin
liljegren

they arent gonna develop if you keep them out of the lineup, they cant become nhl d if you dont play them in the nhl, that leaves a spot for 1 more d

It is their decision to do so at present. (Keep three goalies).

All that says to me is that you won't do it because it cannot be done.

Point proven.

All that points against your opinion is the words that the coach said and the reality that people who understand hockey know that Lehtonen was not very good during the scrimmage.

I am not disagreeing with what the coach said. I actually agree with his assessments of the two players in question there. That isn't and was never the point.

I understand how the game works enough to know that you will not take on the challenge because you know that it cannot be done under the circumstances that I had outlined.

If this is the lineup....

Thornton / Matthews / Marner
Vesey / Tavares / Nylander
Mikheyev / Kerfoot / Hyman
Barabonov / Spezza / Simmonds

Rielly / Brodie
Muzzin / Holl
Lehtonen / Bogosian

Andersen
Campbell
Dell

That is 21 players, with $566,509 left over.

Now... try adding Dermott to that lineup without removing anyone and still be cap compliant. Newsflash..... YOU CAN'T!

They will not put Dermott on the TS because he would have to pass through waivers and would be claimed by another team. Lehtonen does not have to pass through waivers.

Therefore, Dermott starts on the roster and Lehtonen does not.

What the coach says publicly means nothing. This IS the reasoning behind the allocation.

Of course, I won't take on the challenge. It is both stupid and irrelevant.

If Lehtonen had been as good as those Leafs' fans wearing rose-coloured glasses think he is then he would be in the lineup and they would have risked losing Dell now instead of risking losing him in the next few days or weeks.

You know what is stupid and irrelevant?

Suggesting that the team would risk losing Dell by not having him on the roster, or continuing to argue that the coaches decision about Dermott is about performance over taxi squad waiver eligibility.

That is simply not the case.

For the record.... I think that this is the right decision. I saw nothing in the SINGLE SCRIMMAGE GAME that should indicate that Lehtonen deserves the spot over Dermott. They both played like crap as far as I'm concerned.

Make no mistake about it. The reason that Dermott is on this team over Lehtonen, (right now), is as waiver eligibility related as it is performance related. Of that, there is no doubt.

Yes, I already told you what was stupid and irrelevant.

Your inability to find reason and logic is stupid and irrelevant.

I wish you well in the wars to come.