The Maple Leafs announced that winger Sammy Blais has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Toronto. Since the move is in conjunction with injured reserve activations for Auston Matthews and Nicolas Roy, the Leafs can place him on the non-roster list during his 24-hour waiver period to stay at the 23-play limit. Jacob Quillan was also reassigned to the Marlies as previously reported.
Blais, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Canadiens at the beginning of the season. He’s since scored a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs in eight appearances. He averaged just 8:17 of ice time per game. Despite his 41.3 CF% at 5-on-5 being the second-worst on the team, he graded out much better in other possession metrics (57.1 SF%, 56.7 xGF%, 58.8 HDCF%).
That’s a small sample but a nonetheless promising one for Blais, who didn’t appear in the NHL at all last season. He’s averaged nine goals and 23 points per 82 games in his eight-year NHL career. He’s shown the offensive utility to be a high-end bottom-six piece in a pair of previous stints with the Blues, including a 20-point run in 31 games after they reacquired him from the Rangers during the 2022-23 season. He only produced one goal and seven points in 53 games the following year before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He had to settle for a minor-league pact with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.
While Blais may not have gotten the NHL job or paycheck he wanted, it was a banner year for the 6’2″ winger in the Vancouver organization. He rattled off 14 goals and 40 points in 51 games for Abbotsford before adding 19 points in 23 playoff games en route to a Calder Cup championship. That was enough of a resurgence for Montreal to offer the Quebec native a league-minimum contract over the offseason, but the Leafs took advantage of his availability on waivers to reunite him with head coach Craig Berube, who oversaw his entrance into the league in St. Louis.
They’ll hope to retain him as minor-league depth, but his cheap cap hit, status as a pending UFA, and 265 games of NHL experience make him an attractive claim candidate for a team needing some interim help on the wings in their bottom six. It’s notable that Toronto opted to expose Blais to waivers rather than demoting the waiver-exempt Easton Cowan, signaling they’ve awarded their top prospect a full-time NHL job – at least for now. The Leafs will still have a fair amount of roster juggling to do in the coming weeks with Brandon Carlo, Anthony Stolarz, and Chris Tanev still on IR.
Since Montreal lost him on waivers earlier this season, if they submit a claim for him and are the only team to do so, they’ll be able to send him directly to the minors without waiving him again.