Leafs claim Cayden Primeau, Sammy Blais off waivers

Primeau comes to Toronto after being put on the wire on Sunday by the Carolina Hurricanes. He signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the team after his signing rights were traded by the Montreal Canadiens just before free agency opened this past summer. However, with the likes of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov manning the net, Primeau was one of the odd men out.

However, with Joseph Woll currently being absent from the Leafs, there might be a spot for Primeau to fill behind Anthony Stolarz.

In 11 games with the Canadiens last season, Primeau went 2-3-1, with a 4.70 goals-against average and a .836 save percentage. In 26 games with the Laval Rocket, the Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate, Primeau was fantastic. He went 21-2-3, wth a 1.96 GAA, a .927 SV% and two shutouts.

In 55 NHL appearances, the Farmington Hills, Mich. native has a career record of 13-23-7, with a 3.77 GAA, a .884 SV% and two shutouts.

Blais had signed with the Canadiens on July 1, also inking a one-year deal with a cap hit of $775,000, his first NHL contract since his one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues ended at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.

He spent the 2024-25 campaign on an AHL contract with the Vancouver Canucks’ primary affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. After scoring 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 51 games during the regular season, the Montmagny, Quebec native notched six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 23 postseason games. He helped Abbotsford win the franchise’s first Calder Cup. It was the second championship Blais has won in his professional career, as he helped the Blues win the team’s first Stanley Cup in 2019.

Blais hasn’t appeared in an NHL regular-season contest since April 2024. He has spent six of his eight seasons in the league with St. Louis, playing with the New York Rangers from 2021 to the trade deadline in February 2023. In 257 NHL games, Blais has scored 27 goals and 44 assists for 71 points, including eight points in 27 playoff games.