The defenseman was released from his PTO with the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 4
The Toronto Marlies have added to their depth on the back end.
The AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Wednesday that they have signed the defenseman to a professional tryout (PTO).
DeKeyser has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. The 32-year-old had 11 assists in 59 games with the club last season.
With injuries hitting the Maple Leafs blue line, adding DeKeyser will help the AHL club deal with some potential call ups that could happen at the position.
Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin injured his neck in the second period of the team’s 4-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday. Victor Mete, who was called up on Sunday, may take Muzzin’s place ahead of their game against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and another player may get called up from the Marlies as a reserve ahead of the club’s road through Winnipeg, Las Vegas and California.
The Maple Leafs are currently at the maximum allowable 50 contract limit. Should the Leafs decide they want to convert DeKeyser’s PTO into an NHL standard player contract, they would need to shed a contract to do so.