The Toronto Maple Leafs have put forward Alex Nylander and defenceman Dakota Mermis on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

The move is likely in anticipation of the impending returns of Bobby McMann and Jake McCabe to the lineup.

McMann was placed on IR on November 30 after exiting a game early against the Florida Panthers while McCabe has missed the past five games due to taking a puck off the side of his head against the Tampa Bay Lightning during a November 30 game.

It is worth noting that Mermis is currently with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on an LTIR conditioning loan due to a jaw surgery that has kept him out of the lineup since the start of training camp. Although Mermis is already in the AHL, this waiver is likely an attempt to ensure he remains with the organization until the Leafs need to call him up. He has recorded an assist in three games throughout his conditioning stint.

As for Nylander, he was called up during a period when the Leafs were ravaged by injuries to their forward core while getting a chance to share a team with his older brother William for the first time in their careers. While he showed flashes of offensive potential, Alex Nylander went scoreless in five games with the Leafs along with four penalty minutes and a minus-one.

Prior to his call-up, he was having a strong campaign with the Marlies, recording 12 points (eight goals and four assists) in 14 games — he was tied for the Marlies’ lead prior with Alex Steeves, before being promoted to the Leafs.

If Nylander gets claimed on waivers by another team and they decide to place him on waivers down the line, the Leafs have the top priority to reclaim him and could send him to the Marlies. We saw something similar happen earlier this season when the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights went back and forth on claiming Raphael Lavoie before he ended up with the latter team when the dust settled.