Former Maple Leafs Defenseman Officially Placed on Waivers, per Source

While teams are looking to get their rosters shaped up not only in preparation for the trade deadline, but for their prospective playoff pushes, roster cuts are going to be simply business.

It was an unfortunate turn of events then for Travis Dermott, as he was waived by the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday the team announced on social media.

Dermott, 28, has played sparingly with the Wild in more of a depth role. He has registered zero points in 19 games with both Edmonton and Minnesota.

Originally drafted 34th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2015, Dermott was selected above names like Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, and Anthony Cirelli.

He found his best seasons in Toronto, where he played for five years registering 12 goals and 40 assists in 251 games. He also added 214 blocks and 311 hits in that span as well.

He was a solid contributor for the Maple Leafs at a time when they employed players like Ron Hainsey, Roman Polak and Martin Marincin; a who's who of middling and aging defensemen.

He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick in 2022 which turned into Jordan Gustafson; who hasn't yet played in the NHL.

He then signed with Arizona the season after, but had a really rough season before signing a contract with Edmonton as the season opened.

Dermott was waived by Edmonton and picked up by the Wild in mid-December but never got a chance to really get things going.

It remains to be seen if this is the end of his NHL season, or if another team is going to take a flyer on him and hoping he can add some insurance to their back end.

Either way, we'll have our answer in the next 24 hours.