Mermis has played one game in the NHL this season, with the Utah Hockey Club in mid-December.
Dakota Mermis will join the Toronto Maple Leafs on their flight to Carolina and play against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
Toronto will recall the 31-year-old ahead of their game in Carolina after playing with five defensemen in their 1-0 overtime win on Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Mermis signed a one-year, $775,000 contract in the summer but has yet to play a game with the Maple Leafs.
Craig Berube confirmed that Dakota Mermis will be called up on an emergency basis and be in the lineup against the Hurricanes tomorrow. @BodogCA
— David Alter (@dalter) April 13, 2025
Toronto was forced to play with five defensemen because of salary cap restraints after Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered undisclosed injuries. Mitch Marner took some shifts on the back-end against Montreal, something he's done plenty of times before.
"I like it back there. I think I expressed that to you guys last year. I don’t feel lost or uncomfortable," he said on Saturday night. "I try to not make it difficult on myself, just try to make easy, quick plays. I enjoy it back there when I get the chance to play D, to be honest."
After playing a player short, the Maple Leafs can bring up Mermis from the AHL on an emergency basis. His cap hit is below the $875,000 threshold and will count as $0 towards Toronto's cap.
Why The Maple Leafs Will Dress 5 Defensemen Against The Canadiens On SaturdayThe Toronto Maple Leafs will likely dress one player short when they host the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Neither McCabe nor Ekman-Larsson will travel with the team to Carolina. Head coach Craig Berube confirmed on Friday that McCabe will return to the lineup before the regular season concludes.
Mermis has spent most of the season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. He joined the Utah Hockey Club for part of this year after being claimed by the club on waivers on Dec. 13.
He appeared in one game with Utah before being placed on waivers again. Mermis was picked back up by the Maple Leafs on Jan. 3 and was immediately assigned to the Marlies.
Jake McCabe Expected To Return To Maple Leafs' Lineup Before Regular Season Ends, Other Injury NotesMcCabe has been out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury since April 2.
Mermis has seven assists in 32 games with the AHL club. He plays in almost all situations with the Marlies and has recently been an assistant captain after Kyle Clifford went down with an injury.
The Alton, Illinois native has played 75 NHL games, split between Utah, the Arizona Coyotes, the New Jersey Devils, and the Minnesota Wild. He has four goals and eight assists and has averaged 14:25 of ice time in that span.
Toronto has three more regular season games: Sunday against Carolina, Tuesday vs. Buffalo, and Thursday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Their win on Saturday against Montreal gives them home-ice advantage in the first round, no matter who they face.
Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. This game against the Central Division’s leader ended the home portion of Chicago’s schedule for 2024-25.
The Blackhawks came out firing as they took a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals by Nick Foligno and Connor Bedard. Going up against Connor Hellebuyck, one of the best goalies in the world, it was a wonderful start.
In the second period, the Jets did what they do best and came back. The Blackhawks looked good early in the middle frame, but things went south when Nino Niederreiter scored to get Winnipeg on the board.
Not long after that, Kyle Connor tied the game with his 41st goal of the season. That 2-2 deadlock went to the second intermission, setting up an incredible finish to the home schedule.
In the final frame, the Jets took less than three minutes to take a 3-2 lead in the hockey game. Josh Morrissey threw one through traffic, and it went in the net off of Spencer Knight.
The Blackhawks didn’t roll over. In the second half of the third, Ryan Donato scored his 31st goal of the season to keep his special run going strong. On the goal, Connor Bedard collected his 81st career assist, which is the most by a teenager in Blackhawks history.
Frank Nazar put the Blackhawks ahead not long after, but the lead didn’t stand for long as Josh Morrissey tied it right back up with his second of the game before regulation was over. Despite plenty of chances in overtime for both sides, the game required a shootout.
Connor Bedard was the only Blackhawk to score in the shootout while both Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti tucked one in to give the Jets the win. This victory secured the Central Division title for them.
After the game ended, the Jets stayed on the ice to deliver handshakes to both Patrick Maroon and Alec Martinez. Both of them ended wonderful careers that saw each of them win three Stanley Cups. It was a wonderful sign of sportsmanship as two amazing players are leaving the game.
Now, the Blackhawks will hit the road without Martinez and Maroon for their final two games of the season. It begins with a trip to Quebec to visit the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
The Nashville Predators (29-42-8, 66 points) visit the Vegas Golden Knights (48-22-9, 105 points) for their final road game of the season Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
The Predators are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games and coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. The Golden Knights, who are in first place in the Pacific Division, are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and coming off a 2-1 defeat of the Seattle Kraken.
Bunting-O'Reilly-Evangelista
Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
Vrana-Svechkov-L'Heureux
Smith-McCarron-Wood
Skjei-Blankenburg
Oesterle-Barron
Englund-Del Gaizo
Annunen
Saros
Extra: Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body)
IR: Lauzon, Wilsby, Josi
Another home game, another victory for the Florida Panthers.
On Saturday, Florida welcomed the Buffalo Sabres to Sunrise and came away with an exciting 3-2 shootout victory.
The two Atlantic Division rivals played a scoreless opening period, until a tripping penalty by Evan Rodrigues gave the Sabres their first power play of the game.
Rasmus Dahlin rushed the puck up the ice and made a nice give-and-go play with Jason Zucker, ending up with a wide-open net and giving Buffalo a 1-0 lead with 19 seconds left in the first period.
A nice play by Carter Verhaeghe would tie the game early in the second period.
After Seth Jones missed the net with a long wrist shot, Verhaeghe picked up the carrum off the back boards and drove to the net, making a nice move to his backhand and beating a sprawling Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Almost exactly 10 minutes later, Jesse Puljujarvi picked up his first goal as a member of the Panthers, deflecting a shot by Uvis Balinskis to give Florida their first lead of the game.
It would then be Buffalo’s turn to tie the game, and once again they would score while on the power play.
This time it was JJ Peterka scoring from a sharp angle off a nice feed from Dahlin just as a 5-on-3 advantage was expiring for Buffalo.
The knotted score would hold throughout the remainder of regulation and the five-minute overtime session, so the game headed to a shootout.
An opening goal by Anton Lundell would be all Florida needed as Vitek Vanecek stopped Jack Quinn, Peterka and Alex Tuch to seal the deal for the Cats.
On to the Rangers.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Balinskis played in his 100th NHL game, notching his 14th assist of the season and third over his past two outings.
Verhaeghe has now scored in consecutive games for just the third time this season and the first time since Feb. 1 and 2.
He also logged an assist, giving Verhaeghe four points over a three-game point streak.
Seth Jones has logged four assists over his past seven games.
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA
Searching for third straight win, Panthers host Sabres team playing best hockey of season
The Hockey Show: Rose returns, Jim Fox talks Kings, playoffs and filming with Mike Myers
Three takeaways: Panthers clip Wings' speed, Samoskevich continues to impress
Marchand scores first with Panthers as Florida downs Detroit 4-1
Fresh off resounding win over Toronto, Panthers aim to take down desperate Red Wings
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that defenseman Owen Power will miss the remainder of the team's April 12 matchup against the Florida Panthers.
Power recorded one shot in 13:27 of ice time before exiting the contest. The Sabres have not yet announced what injury Power has suffered.
Power, 22, has appeared in 79 games this season for the Sabres, where he has set new career highs with seven goals, 33 assists, and 40 points. The 2021 first-overall pick is an incredibly important part of the Sabres' blueline, so this is certainly concerning news.
In 241 career NHL games over four seasons with the Sabres, Power has 19 goals, 92 assists, 111 points, and a plus-8 rating.
Recent Sabres News
Sabres Star Finishing The Season Red-HotThe end of the season is just about here for the Buffalo Sabres, as the Atlantic Division club will not be in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year. While this is the case, the Sabres have been playing some of their best hockey of the season, winning eight out of their last 10 games.
Sabres Breakout Forward Closing In On Nice MilestoneThe
Buffalo Sabres are almost at the end of their season, as they have just five games remaining. Overall, it has been another tough season for the Sabres, but off-season addition Ryan McLeod has undoubtedly been one of their bright spots.