Leafs to call up D Mermis for Sunday's game against Hurricanes
Published
With the 2024-25 regular season winding down and a playoff spot already secured, injured players Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe and David Kämpf will not make the trip with the Toronto Maple Leafs to Raleigh for Sunday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Maple Leafs will recall veteran journeyman defenceman Dakota Mermis from the American Hockey League and he will make his Leafs debut against the Hurricanes.
Head coach Craig Berube made the announcement following Saturday's 1-0 overtime win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
McCabe and Ekman-Larsson each missed the game on Saturday, leaving the Leafs with just five healthy defenceman in their lineup.
Kampf has now missed four straight games with an upper-body injury.
The Maple Leafs signed Mermis to a one-year contract this summer, but he was placed on waivers in December and picked up by the Utah Hockey Club. Mermis played just one game in Utah before he was back on waivers in early January and subsequently re-claimed by the Leafs.
The 31-year-old American has seven assists over 32 games with the the AHL's Toronto Marlies in 2024-25
Mermis has four goals and eight assists over 75 career games in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes/Utah, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Maple Leafs hold a 49-26-4 record alongside 102 points, good enough to lead the Atlantic Division by four points over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.