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Edmonton Oilers bringing back Travis Dermott for second stint but could send him to AHL

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Feb 26 2025, 7:07 pm
Edmonton Oilers bringing back Travis Dermott for second stint but could send him to AHL
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers are bringing defenceman Travis Dermott back into the fold.

The 28-year-old attended Oilers camp on a PTO this past fall, and was able to earn himself a one-year, two-way deal. He suited up for 10 games before being placed on waivers, where he was scooped up by the Minnesota Wild.

Dermott wound up playing in just nine games for the Wild, where he was held pointless while averaging 11:23 minutes of ice time. With the Wild’s blue line back to full health, they chose to waive the veteran of 348 games, resulting in the Oilers choosing to bring him back.

Assuming no other teams put in an unsuccessful claim for Dermott, this gives the Oilers the ability to place him in the AHL without having to go through the waiver process again. That may very well be their plan, as they already have seven defencemen on their current roster in Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, John Klingberg, Brett Kulak, Troy Stecher, and Ty Emberson.

At the very least, Dermott will provide some depth to a team that many feel isn’t deep enough on the blue line to win a Stanley Cup. The back end has been called into question a ton as of late, as the Oilers have gone 0-3-0 out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break while being outscored 17-6 in the process.

They’ll look to break out of their slump tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. We should also have a better idea ahead of puck drop as to whether Dermott will remain with the Oilers or be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors.

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