Maple Leafs sign Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers to add defensive depth

The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced the signings of three depth players, including two defencemen, to one-year contracts.

Among the signings are defencemen Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers along with forward Cedric Pare.

Mermis played 47 games last season, averaging 14 minutes a night. That firmly puts him in a 7/8th defenceman role that was getting sheltered duty when he was in the lineup. He’s 6’0 with a left shot, and additionally played 5 games for the Iowa Wild in the AHL. He was their captain for those games and could fill a similar role with the Marlies this year as it is unlikely that he’ll be leapfrogging Hakanpaa, Benoit, or Timmins on the depth chart.

Mermis has spent the past seven seasons bouncing back and forth between the AHL and the NHL and last year he spent more time in the NHL than any other year. It’s likely he’ll be pushing to keep that going but this is a signing with AHL depth in mind. Mermis was a part of the London Knights organization at the same time as Stolarz, Domi, and Marner, so there is some familiarity with the group and after years of the Maple Leafs being a Soo team, they seem to be reverting to loving their former Knights.

The numbers on Mermis in his limited NHL time are 45 hits and 59 blocks in his 47 games last season. He picked up 8 points as well.

Myers, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-handed defenceman who has spent time with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Nashville Predators. He was also a member of Team Canada at the 2017 World Juniors, winning a silver medal.

Pare, a 6-foot-4 centre and former sixth-round pick of the Boston Bruins, has not played a game in the NHL yet, but spent last season with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, tallying 31 points in 65 games.