Maple Leafs announce a roster update ahead of game vs. Avalanche
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a roster move as they demoted Dakota Mermis to the Toronto Marlies in order to give him some reps as he comes back from injury.
It's a late one for the Maple Leafs on Monday night as the team heads to Colorado to play the NHL's top team and try to give them their first regulation loss at home this season.
That's not going to be an easy task and the Maple Leafs need all of the momentum they've built up to help carry them through an extremely tough Avalanche squad.
But one player who won't be part of things is Dakota Mermis, who is recovering from injury and has now been demoted to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) but it's for a good reason:
The team has decided to send Mermis down to the Marlies to give him some reps so he can get back into game shape after missing a month due to a knee injury.
Dakota Mermis' tough journey over the past three seasons
He suffered the injury back against Tampa Bay on Dec. 8 when Lightning player Gage Goncalves skated directly into Mermis' knee and took him out of the game.
Mermis had been seen skating during practices but there has been no definitive timeline for a return however this is a great step forward towards him coming back for the Maple Leafs.
In 11 games, Mermis has one goal, nine blocks, eight hits, and a minus-three rating in 13:02 TOI.
It's been a bit of a struggle for Mermis at the NHL level over the last couple of seasons. He missed the last half of the 2023-24 season with a jaw injury, healed up, then was signed and waived by Toronto.
Utah picked him up, he played one game, and waived again with the Maple Leafs picking him up once more. Then he finally found his way into the lineup due to injuries only to get hurt again.
But at least he's on the road to recovery and is one step closer to coming back for the Maple Leafs who could use him as depth at the very least knowing that at any moment one of their blueliners can go down.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 12|606 ANSWERS Maple Leafs announce a roster update ahead of game vs. Avalanche Will Dakota Mermis be called back up by the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 345 | 56.9 % |
| No | 261 | 43.1 % |
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