The Toronto Maple Leafs have assigned defenceman Dakota Mermis to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a long-term injured reserve (LTIR) conditioning loan, the team announced on Monday.

Mermis, 32, has been out of game action since December 8 after suffering a lower-body injury in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The defenceman went knee-on-knee with Lightning forward Gage Goncalves and left the game following the injury. The team went on to put him on long-term injured reserve two days later, on December 10.

Mermis is in his second year with the Maple Leafs’ organization after spending four seasons in the Minnesota Wild organization. He was signed to a one-year contract worth $775,000 in July 2024 and spent the majority of last season with the Marlies. He was waived in December 2024 and subsequently claimed by the Utah Mammoth, for which he’d appear in one game before the Mammoth placed him on waivers and the Maple Leafs claimed him back.

Mermis returned to Toronto in the 2025-26 offseason and appeared in 11 games with the Maple Leafs, scoring one goal before suffering his injury. He had earned an early opportunity after the team got hit with the injury bug, losing staples Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo long-term within two weeks of each other back in November.

It’s unknown at this time how long Mermis will be out for, but his path back to the Maple Leafs appears to be an uphill one now that the team’s defensive corps is healthy minus Tanev. Lots could change between now and whenever he returns, but it seems more likely he’ll remain with the Marlies once he’s fully recovered.

Mermis signed as an undrafted free agent for the 2015-16 season and spent time with both the Arizona Coyotes and the New Jersey Devils before landing in Minnesota, where he spent four years before joining the Maple Leafs.