A boatload of NHL players hit the waiver wire on Wednesday including two Maple Leafs as Toronto placed Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis on waivers to trim their roster.
Wednesday came with a flurry of roster moves for several NHL teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs. With less than a week to go before the season starts, the team needs to make sure they have things figured out quickly, and put together a competitive team.
Maple Leafs cut two defenders as regular season roster takes shape
That involves waiving some players and for two Maple Leafs hopefuls, they are going to have to wait. Both Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis were placed on the waiver wire by Toronto as they trim the fat of their lineup ahead of the regular season:
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Mermis, 32, appeared in 11 games with the Maple Leafs last season and recorded one goal, meanwhile McWard, 25, was a free agent signing this summer. He spent last season with the New York Islanders, appearing in three games and registering no points.
Mermis is likely headed to the Marlies as veteran AHL depth, much like he was last season where he ended up winning a Calder Cup. He also found himself in the headlines after an OT win had him take a beer can that was thrown on the ice and chug back whatever was left:
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It's also not the first time Mermis has dealt with the waiver situation, as he was waived by Toronto last year, picked up by Utah, waived after one game, then picked up again by the Maple Leafs shortly thereafter.
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Make that two players down with likely a few more to follow. Expect there to be several more names hitting the waiver wire over the next few days given that the Maple Leafs need to submit their roster in five days.
The team already has a pretty good idea of who they are bringing in: Morgan Rielly, Darren Raddysh, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and one of Troy Stecher/Emil Andrae/Nick Blankenburg; there's a question of who is going to be the last depth piece.
Philippe Myers is likely not going to be sticking around, and if Toronto is going with eight defenders that means it's going to be a fight. Blankenburg has the edge given his NHL experience and puck movement, not to mention being the best defender in Toronto's first preseason game.
Ben Danford could stake his claim as a depth option, but he would be better suited for a full AHL season to get his professional footing under his belt. Other than that, you've got Noah Chadwick and Vinny Borgesi who could fill spots but are both rookies and haven't had the same level of attention as Danford.
For now though, we know that at least to start the year, Mermis and McWard are going to be left fighting for an NHL spot once again.
More details to come.
Did the Maple Leafs make enough waiver Modesto clear the roster?
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