Edmonton Oilers reveal defense solution with PTO

The Edmonton Oilers extended a PTO to Travis Dermott to help solve their defense issues after losing Philip Broberg and Cody Ceci during the offseason.

Frank Seravalli was the first to report that Dermott would be signing a professional tryout contract with the Edmonton Oilers. Deermott is a veteran of 329 career NHL games but played just 50 this past season with the Arizona Coyotes. The Oilers believe he could be the solution to their lack of depth on defense.

Dermott is best known for his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs drafted him with the 34th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He played five tumultuous seasons with the Leafs before they traded him to the Vancouver Canucks at the 2022 trade deadline.

The Canucks, like the Oilers, believed that Dermott would be able to improve their defense depth and find another gear that he was unable to discover in the hockey hotbed of Toronto. However, a concussion knocked him out of the 2022-23 season, and he played in just 11 games.

Instead of staying with the Canucks, Dermott decided to join the Arizona Coyotes in what would be their final season. He didn't have as successful of a season as he would have liked, which led to him going unsigned near the end of the offseason. He could be a steal for the Oilers on their bottom pairing if the PTO works out.

The Oilers must find an answer after losing Broberg to Doug Armstrong and the St. Louis Blues' offer sheet. They acquired Ty Emberson in a deal for Cody Ceci to save cap space, but a depth group of Joshua Brown, Connor Carrick, and Emberson doesn't give hope for a return to the Stanley Cup Final.

Will Dermott find a fit and help the Oilers with their goal of winning Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's first Stanley Cup?

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