Leafs Bolster Roster with Emergency Call-Up Following Canadiens Game

As the Leafs faced off against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, they ended up dressing only five defensemen, with star forward Mitch Marner assuming defensive duties and helping steer Toronto to a historic 1-0 OT victory.

But he needs to be up front more than anything else, and while the team couldn't bring anyone up for Saturday, they made a critical call up for Sunday night's game against the Hurricanes.

Dakota Mermis gets the call and finally makes his Leafs debut after signing with the team this past offseason.

It's been a long time coming for Mermis, who signed with the team in the summer, recovered from jaw surgery, was waived, picked up by Utah, waived again and re-acquired by the Maple Leafs.

A rollercoaster of a season to say the least, Mermis will finally get a chance to show the team what he can do.

It'll need to be a great debut though, as he only gets a little bit of time to showcase his skills, and a strong game against Carolina could give him a bit of an edge come playoffs.

Only being used sporadically in his career, Mermis has skated in 75 games with four different teams over the last eight seasons.

His best season came last year with the Minnesota Wild, where he had eight points in 47 games, but hasn't been able to really get back to the ice since.

Toronto is going to be in tough against the Hurricanes, and while the team already locked up a playoff spot and home-ice advantage, they can't afford to take their foot off the gas and put in a lackadaisical effort. This is the most critical time of the year where the Leafs need to find that extra gear, and can't afford any setbacks.

All we can hope for is that Mermis is able to weather the storm that clashes with Toronto on Sunday evening, and the Leafs can avoid anymore catastrophes before the playoffs kick off.