TORONTO, CANADA — Defenseman Dakota Mermis, an Alton native, signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $1.625 million on July 1, 2025, the team announced Tuesday. The deal carries an average annual cap hit of $812,500 and will keep Mermis with the Maple Leafs through the end of the 2026-27 NHL season.
Mermis, 31, joins Toronto as an unrestricted free agent and is represented by agent Kurt Overhardt. The contract structure includes base salaries of $775,000 for the 2025-26 season and $850,000 for the 2026-27 season, with no performance or signing bonuses. Upon expiration of the contract, Mermis will again be an unrestricted free agent at age 33.
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The defenseman has played 78 career NHL games with multiple teams, including the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, and most recently Toronto and the Utah Hockey Club in the 2024-25 season. Mermis made his NHL debut with Arizona on Nov. 2, 2017, and scored his first NHL goal on March 6, 2020, while with New Jersey.
Mermis’ recent movements included being signed by Toronto on July 2, 2024, claimed off waivers by Utah on Dec. 12, 2024, and then reclaimed by Toronto on Jan. 3, 2025. During the 2023-24 NHL season, he appeared in 47 games for Minnesota, tallying three goals and five assists.
