The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed a couple of defensemen on waivers on Wednesday. The minor-league blueliners include Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis, who were placed on the wire, according to PuckPedia.
This can be viewed as the first batch of roster cuts, in terms of personnel to make the NHL lineup. McWard and Mermis have been waived because Toronto is trimming the roster as the 2026-27 campaign approaches.
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There are also two players who don’t feature in either split-squad roster for Wednesday’s pre-season contest against the Ottawa Senators.
Since joining the NHL in 2022-23 as an undrafted player, McWard has only played a total of nine NHL games. Last year, he made just one appearance with the New York Islanders and 63 games with the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL.
The 25-year-old defenseman was signed to a two-year contract by the Maple Leafs, earning $875,000 per season against the salary cap.
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As for Mermis, he has several more NHL games under his belt, featuring a total of 89 across parts of nine seasons in the league. In the past two years, he played 14 games for Toronto, scoring one goal last season in 11 contests.
Last year, Mermis played a key role in the Toronto Marlies taking home the AHL’s Calder Cup. He featured in all 24 playoff games for the Marlies and recorded 10 assists.
Toronto signed Mermis back in July 2024. In the 2024-25 season, they lost him on waivers to the Utah Mammoth, but claimed him back later in the year.
Both Mermis and McWard have been paired together in Group 2 of the Maple Leafs’ training camp so far. They are anticipated to be the third pairing with the Marlies, based on how they lined up in the lead-up days to the regular season.
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