Thursday Waivers: Maple Leafs Lose Player, Oilers Place Dermott on Waivers

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers made some news on the NHL waiver wire on Thursday.

In some business to wrap up Wednesday's moves, the Leafs have lost defenseman Dakota Mermis to the Utah Hockey Club, while former Leaf, and now potentially former Oiler Travis Dermott has been placed on waivers by Edmonton.

#NHL Waivers today:#Oilers placed D Travis Dermott on waivers. #UtahHC claimed D Dakota Mermis on waivers from #Leafs.#nhljets placed F Henri Nikkanen on unconditional waivers for purposes of contract termination.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 12, 2024

The 30-year-old Mermis has 74 games of NHL experience, most of it last season in 47 contests with the Minnesota Wild. He didn't make it into a game with the Leafs after his jaw was shattered during training camp. He's only recently returned to play three games with the Marlies in the AHL.

Toronto did get Alex Nylander through waivers, and he'll back down to the Marlies. He played in five games with the Leafs, lacing it up with his more notable big brother William.

As for the Oilers, after claiming D-man Alec Regula off waivers on Wednesday from Boston, they've waived Dermott to clear up a bit of the logjam. The 27-year-old got into 10 games with Edmonton this season, with zero points and a plus/minus rating of -3. He averaged 13:05 in ice time. Dermott has 339 games of NHL experience, most of it (251) with the Leafs. He owns a career +12 rating.

The other move today was the Winnipeg Jets placing forward Henri Nikkanen on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract.