Maple Leafs Reclaim Former Defenceman Off of Waivers from the Utah Hockey Club

Signed to a 1-year deal in July, Dakota Mermis was injured early in training camp and had missed the entire season up to the point when the Leafs placed him on waivers in mid-December when he was ready to return to action.

Unfortunately, with a number of injuries to their defense corps, the Utah Hockey Club claimed the 30-year-old.

Yesterday, Utah placed him on waivers in an attempt to assign him to the AHL. The Leafs placed a claim on the undrafted veteran and with no one else placing a bid on his services, and were able to re-claim him from Utah and assign him to the Toronto Marlies.

The Illinois native has played in just 75 NHL games since turning pro in 2015, spending much of his time in the AHL, but skated in 47 of those 75 games last season with the Minnesota Wild where he posted 3 goals and 8 points along with 59 blocks and 45 hits while averaging slightly more than 14 minutes of ice-time per game.

At 6-feet and 195 pounds, Mermis isn't the biggest defenseman, but certainly plays with the sandpaper and grit that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube prefer and adds more depth and experience to the Leafs' blueline.