Maple Leafs Reassign Henry Thrun, Dakota Mermis; Recall Marshall Rifai
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a few changes to the bottom of their defensive core ahead of a four-game roadtrip through the Pacific Division. According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have reassigned Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and recalled Marshall Rifai to the NHL club.
Thrun, 24, was on his second recall of the year. In his first season with the Maple Leafs organization, he has served exclusively as an injury replacement. Throughout his two recalls, Thrun has gone scoreless in four games with Toronto, averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
He’s understandably been more productive with AHL Toronto. In his first significant playing time in the AHL since the start of the 2023-24 season, Thrun has scored three goals and 14 points in 28 games with the Marlies, with a -2 rating. That’s good for second on the team in scoring among defensemen.
Expectedly, Mermis heads to the AHL after being placed on waivers yesterday. He has played more NHL games this year than Thrun, scoring one goal in 11 appearances and averaging 13:02 of ice time per game. Unfortunately for Mermis, he has been out of action since early December as he suffered a long-term lower-body injury. Assuming his current demotion goes well, it’s likely that he’ll return to the active roster relatively soon.
Meanwhile, Rifai will join the Maple Leafs for the second time this season. The 27-year-old began the year on Toronto’s long-term injured reserve as he recovered from a wrist injury. Since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, Rifai has appeared only for the Marlies, scoring three goals and 17 points in 75 games with a +15 rating. In his only NHL action back in the 2023-24 campaign, he went scoreless in two games.
Maple Leafs Place Dakota Mermis On Waivers
Ahead of their game against the Sabres tonight, the Maple Leafs placed defenseman Dakota Mermis on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Today marked the end of an extended conditioning loan to the AHL for the defender, who was on long-term injured reserve, meaning they had to either activate him or designate him as waivers non-roster.
Mermis came to the Leafs as a free agent signing in 2024. He signed a new two-year deal last summer to extend his stay in the organization. Still, this is the third time they’ve placed him on waivers since landing him. They were unsuccessful the first time, losing him to Utah in December 2024, but they reclaimed him a few weeks later when he ended up back on the wire, and they haven’t lost him since.
He cleared waivers successfully to begin this season and was yo-yoed between leagues for the first month before sticking on the Leafs’ roster from the beginning of November onward due to their rash of injuries on defense. That bug ended up biting Mermis in December, sidelining him for over a month with a lower-body injury until he was able to get back to action in the minors a couple of weeks ago.
While Mermis’ conditioning loan began a while back, multiple extensions were granted and he didn’t end up getting into game action until last Sunday, recording a -1 rating and two shots in an overtime loss to Providence. It was just his third AHL appearance of the season, as he’s spent most of his time up with the Leafs or on IR.
With Troy Stecher in the mix now and Henry Thrun seemingly set to stick around as a press-box option with Philippe Myers for the time being, Mermis’ services aren’t needed on the NHL roster. The 32-year-old, who has 466 AHL appearances across 10 seasons in the minors, will now get to add to that tally on a more consistent basis in the coming weeks.
In 11 NHL contests for the Leafs earlier this year, the 6’0″ lefty had one goal, a -3 rating, and a 46.9 CF% at even strength while averaging 13:02 of ice time per game.
Maple Leafs Assign Dakota Mermis On Conditioning Loan
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve assigned defenseman Dakota Mermis to AHL Toronto on a conditioning loan. Since he is on long-term injured reserve, his conditioning stint is subject to added restrictions – he can only remain in the minors for up to three games or six days, whichever comes first, until they must activate him and/or place him on waivers.
Mermis has been rehabbing a lower-body injury for just over a month. The veteran depth option last played on Dec. 8 against the Lightning. While it was only ever publicly reported he was on standard IR, the team’s announcement implies they shifted him to LTIR at some point in the last few weeks for added breathing room under the salary cap.
Mermis, fresh off his 32nd birthday, is in his second season as a Leaf. He spent most of last year in the minors with the Marlies, aside from a few brief call-ups to Toronto and a short stint in Utah after getting claimed off waivers and subsequently being re-claimed by the Leafs. This season, though, he’s gotten into 11 contests for the Leafs amid their earlier rash of blue line injuries. It’s the second-most action the career minor-league option has seen aside from his career-high 47 games with the Wild two years ago.
The 6’0″ lefty has one goal with a -3 rating while averaging 13:02 per game. He’s generally been a net positive possession player in his short looks in the Leafs lineup, and with 554 games of NHL and AHL experience, there’s legitimate value in Mermis as a plug-and-play option.
While Chris Tanev remains on the shelf, Brandon Carlo‘s return from injury and Troy Stecher‘s inclusion in the lineup makes it likelier than not he’ll end up on waivers when his conditioning stint ends this weekend. He might also be kept around as an eighth defenseman while Matt Benning hits the wire, though.
Atlantic Notes: Evans, Chabot, Mermis
The Montreal Canadiens will be without center Jake Evans for their contest tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens shared that Evans is away from the team for personal reasons and that he would rejoin the team this weekend in New York.
There were no additional announcements from the team or subsequent reports indicating why Evans is missing, so it would be unfair to speculate. Still, given that he’s rejoining the team in New York, Evans is expected to re-enter the lineup when the Canadiens take on the Rangers on Saturday.
It also explains, in part, the trio of recalls made earlier today by Montreal. The Canadiens already have several players on the team’s injured reserve, so there was no need for a corresponding roster move. Owen Beck, who was included in today’s recall, will likely slot into Montreal’s third line in place of Evans and appear in his third NHL contest of the season.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Ottawa Senators will have to wait a little bit longer for the return of defenseman Thomas Chabot. According to TSN’s Bruce Garrioch, Chabot won’t travel with the team for their upcoming road trip, indicating that he’s still a week out at best. Chabot, who has two goals and 10 points over 18 games this season, has been nursing an upper-body injury since November 22nd.
- Staying in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expecting depth defenseman Dakota Mermis to return anytime soon. Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun reported that Mermis, who was placed on injured reserve earlier today, is expected to miss a month with a lower-body injury. The nine-year veteran left Toronto’s game in the third period on Wednesday due to the injury.
Maple Leafs Recall Henry Thrun
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled defenseman Henry Thrun from AHL Toronto. They placed defenseman Dakota Mermis on injured reserve in a corresponding move. He left Monday’s game against the Lightning after sustaining a lower-body injury on a hit from Gage Goncalves and is day-to-day.
Thrun, 24, will be making his Leafs debut if he gets into a game. The lefty was initially drafted by the Ducks in 2019 but opted not to sign with them when his collegiate career with Harvard ended in 2023, and saw his signing rights traded to the Sharks.
It was a smart pickup for a rebuilding San Jose club, as Thrun managed to work his way into the lineup for the majority of their games over the last two seasons. He was flexed between the NHL and AHL in 2023-24 but spent all of last season on the Sharks’ roster. A skilled skater and puck-mover who flirted with the point-per-game mark over his last two years in college, Thrun didn’t look entirely out of place. In 2023-24, he averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game, second to only Mario Ferraro among Sharks defenders. That usage dropped to 17:31 last year as they circulated some more depth in, losing out on some power-play time.
Through 119 games as a Shark, Thrun logged a 5-20–25 scoring line with a predictably gaudy -48 rating as a young player stepping into a defensive mess in San Jose. Still, his possession metrics left something to be desired. His 42.9% shot attempt share at 5-on-5 was still a couple of percentage points below how the Sharks were faring without him on the ice.
With San Jose having plenty of younger, higher-ceiling defenders in the pipeline, they dealt Thrun to Toronto over the summer for enforcer Ryan Reaves. Some had penciled Thrun into a bottom-pairing role alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson to begin the year, but both Simon Benoit and Philippe Myers emerged ahead of him on the depth chart by the end of training camp. He was placed on waivers and, somewhat surprisingly, cleared, perhaps as a result of his $1MM cap hit.
Thrun hasn’t broken the bank in the minors, although he’s still been serviceable with nine points and a -5 rating through 19 AHL games. The younger William Villeneuve has emerged as the Marlies’ No. 1 this season. However, it’s not particularly surprising to see the Leafs opt for someone with NHL experience who may still have untapped potential, rather than Villeneuve, who has no NHL games to his name.
It took all of Mermis, Brandon Carlo, and Chris Tanev being on IR or LTIR, but Thrun will finally get his first look as a Leaf. That could come as soon as tomorrow against his former team after the Leafs said Morgan Rielly couldn’t practice today due to an illness. If he’s deployed more as an offensive specialist than how he was used in San Jose, there could be some legitimate benefits to reap on a team that’s done a good job of generating offense from its blue line this season.
Maple Leafs Place Chris Tanev On Injured Reserve
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve placed right-shot defender Chris Tanev on injured reserve, retroactive to the club’s 5-2 loss to the Devils on Tuesday. Tanev is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be ineligible for the next three games at a minimum. Lefty Dakota Mermis was called up from the AHL to take Tanev’s spot on the active roster.
Tanev is no stranger to injuries, although he’s had a healthy run in the past few years, playing 70-plus games in three of the last four seasons. Today’s news doesn’t necessarily put that mark in jeopardy. Head coach Craig Berube only called Tanev questionable for Friday’s game against the Sabres when he spoke yesterday and said he was feeling better. While he obviously won’t be playing now, it indicates he’s not expected to miss much time past the seven-day minimum.
Tanev, 36 in December, only logged 5:57 of ice time against New Jersey before leaving the contest. Early in the second period, he was on the receiving end of incidental head-to-head contact with Devils forward Dawson Mercer during a net-front scrum and immediately headed to the locker room (video via TSN). Removing that outlier from the figure, Tanev is averaging around 19:40 of ice time per game – right at the mark he saw last year, his first in Toronto. The 16-year vet landed with the Leafs in free agency in 2024 on a six-year, $27MM pact and has been a top-four fixture ever since. He’s spent most of that time on a pairing with Jake McCabe. The duo is controlling 45.9% of expected goals through seven games, per MoneyPuck, yet they’re still outscoring opponents 3-2 at 5-on-5. That’s down sharply from their 55.1% mark last year, which ranked 14th among 41 pairings to log at least 600 minutes together in 2024-25.
On the scoresheet, the Toronto native had one assist, a plus-three rating, and two hits through seven outings. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been playing on his off side in third-pairing duties with Simon Benoit, will be the leading candidate to replace Tanev in top-four duties alongside McCabe for the next few games.
It’s unclear if Mermis will get a shot in the lineup. Toronto has been carrying righty Philippe Myers as a healthy extra since the start of the season, but he hasn’t played. Losing a righty to injury would seemingly give the edge to Myers to make his season debut in Buffalo tomorrow.
Mermis, 31, comes up after clearing waivers late in training camp. He re-upped with the Leafs this summer on a two-year, league minimum contract after initially signing a one-year deal with Toronto in 2024. He spent a brief chunk of last season in Utah after they claimed him off waivers, but Toronto grabbed him back when he was exposed on the wire again. He got into four NHL showings, three of which were with the Leafs, with one assist and a minus-two rating. He has 78 career games since debuting with the Coyotes back in 2017-18, carrying a 4-9–13 scoring line with a plus-three rating while averaging 14:30 per game.
Mermis can remain on Toronto’s active roster for up to 30 nonconsecutive days or play 10 games until he needs to clear waivers again to return to the AHL. He’s without a point in two minor-league games to begin the season but has a plus-two rating.
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.
Minor Transactions: 4/13/25
As is often the case at this time of year, there has been an influx of minor roster moves. Teams are shutting players down for the season or trying to give someone a game off with the playoffs approaching, leading to a busier shuffle between the NHL and AHL than usual. Here’s a rundown of today’s moves:
- The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. On Saturday, the Maple Leafs played short one defenseman, qualifying them for a cap-free emergency recall. It’s the second promotion for Mermis since he rejoined Toronto following his waiver claim from Utah back in February. Mermis has played in 32 games for the Marlies this season, notching seven assists.
- The Jets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Dominic Toninato from AHL Manitoba. He’s taking the place of Nikolaj Ehlers on the roster after he exited Saturday’s game following a collision with a linesman. Toninato has been held off the scoresheet in four games with Winnipeg while adding 18 goals and 18 assists in 60 appearances with the Moose.
- The Kraken have returned forward Ryan Winterton to AHL Coachella Valley, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 21-year-old picked up an assist in a dozen games with Seattle and will now return to the Firebirds to get ready for their playoff run. Winterton has 18 goals and 19 assists in 55 AHL contests this season.
- After making his season debut yesterday, Wild defenseman Cameron Crotty is heading back to the minors, per a team announcement (Twitter link). He’ll be ceding his roster spot to Zeev Buium who inked his entry-level deal earlier today. Crotty now has two career NHL appearances under his belt while he has chipped in with 10 assists in 62 outings with Iowa.
- The Islanders have sent goaltender Tristan Lennox back to AHL Bridgeport, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 22-year-old had a short-lived NHL debut back on Tuesday, allowing one goal on two shots in a little under five minutes of action. Lennox has been limited to just four minor league appearances this season due to injury, posting a 4.44 GAA and a .832 SV% with Bridgeport. He was no longer needed with the Isles with Ilya Sorokin returning today.
- One player who won’t be on the NHL-AHL shuffle for a little while longer is Calgary prospect Henry Mews. The defenseman announced (Twitter link) that he’ll play for the University of Michigan next season. Mews was a third-round pick by the Flames last June, going 74th overall. He had a strong year offensively in the OHL, tallying 82 points in 68 games between Ottawa and Sudbury but instead of staying in junior, he’ll test himself at the college level next season.
Maple Leafs Recall Dakota Mermis, Likely To Activate Calle Järnkrok
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from AHL Toronto. Fellow D-man Marshall Rifai is headed back to the minors in a corresponding move, and PuckPedia reports forward Alex Steeves was also returned to the AHL yesterday. The moves leave them with an open roster spot and just enough cap space to activate forward Calle Järnkrok from long-term injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Sharks, as Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reported Sunday.
Järnkrok, 33, has yet to play this season after a lingering lower-body injury resulted in him undergoing groin and sports hernia surgery in mid-November. He was listed as month-to-month, and he only returned to practice as a full participant yesterday.
Signed to a four-year, $8.4MM contract in the 2022 offseason, the versatile Swede has been a decent middle-six piece for the Leafs when healthy. He missed seven games with a previous groin issue in 2022-23 and missed 30 games last year with separate knuckle and hand fractures.
When dressed, he’s produced at a 20-goal, 39-point full-season pace with a +25 rating over 125 appearances. He’s averaged just south of 15 minutes per game and can easily flex between both wings and center, winning 47.3% of his draws since arriving in Toronto. He’s seen consistent penalty-kill usage for the Leafs and fringe power-play usage, occasionally getting looks in the top six. That could be an option down the stretch with a revolving door of second-line left wingers for William Nylander and John Tavares not providing much stability, but for now, he’ll presumably have his minutes limited in a fourth-line role as he gets back up to speed.
Mermis has been added to the Maple Leafs organization twice since the summer, first signing in free agency and then being claimed off waivers in January. Yet his lone NHL appearance this season came with Utah, which selected him off waivers from Toronto in mid-December before losing him back to the Leafs on the wire. Toronto was the only team to submit a claim for Mermis at that time, so he’s been able to suit up for the farm club over the past couple of months without needing to pass through them again.
The 31-year-old was expected to compete for a roster spot as an extra out of camp after appearing in a career-high 47 games with the Wild in 2023-24. A broken jaw sustained during the preseason sidelined him until late November, though. He got some AHL action on a conditioning stint but was claimed by Utah when the Leafs attempted to convert his minor-league assignment into a permanent one.
Mermis is now on his fifth NHL organization after previous stints with the Coyotes, Devils, and Wild. The 6’0″ lefty is a viable puck-mover but has always been more of a defensive option, never topping 26 points in an AHL season. He has six assists and a plus-four rating in 20 showings with the Marlies this year. His defensive metrics in bottom-pairing minutes in Minnesota last year were fine – a 49.5 CF% at even strength with a +0.1 relative impact, plus a 47.9% expected goals share.
He’ll now serve as the Leafs’ extra D for the time being with Chris Tanev on injured reserve as Toronto looks to rotate him and Rifai on the roster to avoid either needing to pass through waivers anytime soon. Rifai cleared at the beginning of the season and has been summoned on a few occasions this season to serve as an extra when injuries strike the Leafs’ defense corps, although he’s yet to appear in a game after making his NHL debut in 2023-24. He’s been on Toronto’s active roster for less than 30 days cumulatively since last clearing waivers, so he doesn’t need them for today’s demotion. The 26-year-old stay-at-home lefty has 3-6–9 with 57 PIMs and a plus-seven rating in 44 games this season.
Steeves has been on the Leafs’ roster since the end of the 4 Nations break, marking his most extended NHL trial to date. The 25-year-old winger appeared in three straight contests for Toronto out of the gate, including a two-point effort against the Hurricanes on Feb. 22, but has now been a healthy scratch in two straight wins. Those two points stand as his only offensive output across seven NHL contests this season and his first since recording an assist against the Blackhawks in December 2021. He remains an extremely valuable minor-league presence, torching the AHL with 29-17–46 through 40 games.
Maple Leafs Recall Dakota Mermis, Assign Fraser Minten To AHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a pair of moves recalling defenseman Dakota Mermis from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL while also sending forward Fraser Minten back to the Marlies. The move likely comes as a response to Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s lower-body injury that he suffered at some point in Saturday night’s game against Edmonton. Ekman-Larsson has been listed as day-to-day and the Maple Leafs are expected to provide an update on him tomorrow.
Mermis was plucked off waivers from Utah last month after he was waived by Toronto back in December and claimed by Utah. The 31-year-old has dressed in just one NHL game this season (with Utah) and hasn’t seen much AHL action either, suiting up for just a dozen AHL games and posting three assists with the Marlies.
For the 20-year-old Minten, his demotion likely means an opportunity to play bigger minutes which should aid in his development. The Maple Leafs’ second-round pick in 2022 (38th overall) has played 15 NHL games this season, tallying two goals and two assists while averaging just over 12 minutes a night of ice time. In the AHL, Minten has had an opportunity to play more of an offensive role and his numbers reflect that as he has five goals and five assists in 16 games with the Marlies.
Given Toronto’s roster moves today it seems likely that defenseman Philippe Myers could be inserted into the lineup for tomorrow night’s game against the Calgary Flames. Myers last played on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Wild.