Maple Leafs Sign Travis Boyd, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Dakota Mermis

The Maple Leafs announced they’ve signed forward Travis Boyd to a one-year, league minimum contract, forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx to a two-year contract with a cap hit of $812,500, and re-signed defenseman Dakota Mermis to a two-year deal with a cap hit of $812,500. Toronto also confirmed the previously reported signing of Michael Pezzetta.

Boyd led the AHL’s Iowa Wild in scoring last season with a lofty 22 goals and 53 points in 63 games. He was a core piece of the lineup through the extent of the year, providing strong play on both sides of the puck and even serving as an alternate captains during home games. He also appeared in three NHL games on the year, but didn’t manage any scoring. Boys spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, and routinely reached promising production. He scored 17 goals and 35 points in 74 games of the 2021-22 season; and 15 goals and 34 points in 82 games of the 2022-23 campaign.

Boyd didn’t offer sharp play away from the puck at an NHL level, but his hot play was halted by injury during the 2023-24 season. Just 16 games and eight points into the season, Boyd sustained a porn pectoral muscle and was forced to end the year early. With a full, strong year in the minors this season – he could be set to slowly walk back to the third-line upside he carried through a trio of years in Arizona.

Groulx is in much of the same position – looking to climb his way back to NHL action after a productive year in the minor leagues. He scored 15 goals and 37 points in 47 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, good for second on the team in scoring behind Alex Belzile’s 56 points. Groulx played in 45 NHL games last season – after entering the season with just 20 career games up to that point. But he wasn’t able to do much with the extended look, netting just two assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-nine. The performance marked the only changes to Groulx’s NHL stat line since he recorded three points and one penalty in 18 games of the 2021-22 season.

Finishing the trio of signings will be the return of Mermis, who appeared in three games with the Maple Leafs and 32 games with the Marlies. He scored one assist at the NHL level and seven assists in the minor-leagues. Mermis has wandered across the NHL over the last three seasons, moving from the Minnesota Wild, to the Utah Mammoth, and then to Toronto. He served as an extra defender across all three clubs, and will likely return to the rotation of depth NHL minutes and routine AHL ice time on a new deal in Toronto.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.