Dakota Mermis Makes Bold Statement in Season Debut, Could Force Way Into Leafs' Playoff Plans

With the Toronto Maple Leafs having to deal with some unfortunate injuries to two of their top defensemen in Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, they had to rely on Mitch Marner on Saturday night, and saw the debuting Dakota Mermis take his spot on the blue line alongside Brandon Carlo.

While he wasn't the standout defender of the night (that could be considered Morgan Rielly with his trio of assists) Mermis certainly held down the fort and played a very solid game, and didn't look sluggish or out of place at all and kept the Hurricanes at bay the best he could.

He logged 15:11 TOI in addition to adding two hits and two blocked shots, and even had a shot on goal. While Mermis didn't get a point, he certainly made life a lot easier for Anthony Stolarz, who has almost forced Craig Berube to start him in Game One.

Which is why he could be very, very important heading forward.

With Toronto needing Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson healthy for the playoffs, they should seriously look at starting Mermis for the remaining two games against Buffalo and Detroit.

Both teams aren't going to really be an issue, and Toronto has home-ice already locked up, and the only thing that remains is clinching the division. While that would be great, having a fully healthy squad is just as, if not, more important in the overall scheme of things.

Mermis hasn't had a chance to really show what he can do outside of Sunday's game and one game earlier with Utah after being claimed off waivers from the Leafs. Toronto then reclaimed him after Utah waived him, and he's been with the Marlies since then.

Recovering from jaw surgery, Mermis has finally gotten himself healthy and has shown in a small sample size that he can contribute, and in a pinch can really make a difference even if he doesn't play that often.

But he could end up giving Craig Berube some pause as to who to add, and might outplay Phillippe Myers in a postseason situation and would be a solid seventh defenseman to slide in for Simon Benoit if he ends up struggling a bit.

With questions surrounding when McCabe and Ekman-Larsson are going to return, Mermis honestly wouldn't be a bad replacement for the next two games and it allows some breathing room for Toronto's injured to recover in time for the first round.