Maple Leafs claim Cayden Primeau, Sammy Blais off waivers

Primeau was claimed off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes, while Blais was claimed from the Montreal Canadiens. Additionally, Michael Pezzetta, Henry Thrun, Dakota Mermis, and Matt Benning passed through waivers and can all be assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

The 26-year-old Primeau appears to be a longer-term stopgap option to provide some stability in the crease, with Joseph Woll remaining away from the team due to a personal leave of absence and an unknown return date. James Reimer was brought in on a PTO on September 26th, making only half of a preseason game appearance where he gave up four goals on 28 shots.

“I’m going to take it minute by minute, I guess, and we’ll see what happens,” Reimer said to reporters after the game on Saturday. “I think, like I said early on in the week, it was a joy to come here, and we’ll see what happens—what decisions get made, and what the need is, and what they think they need going forward. So we’ll see how that goes, and we’ll find out together”.

Primeau had spent the prior season with the Canadiens, going 2-3-1 along with an .836 SV% and a 4.70 GAA across 11 starts. He had originally signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes in the offseason at a league minimum salary.

Blais is a player that head coach Craig Berube knows well, as the two were part of the St. Louis Blues team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019. The move is likely to bring in some additional sandpaper to the bottom-six, who is comfortable entering Berube’s system.

The 29-year-old Blais last appeared in the NHL during the 2023-24 season with the Blues, recording seven points (one goal and six assists) in 53 games played. Blais spent the prior season in the Vancouver Canucks’ system, spending the year in the AHL with Abbotsford, where he scored 40 points (14 goals and 26 assists) in 51 games played. He later registered on 19 points (six goals and 13 assists) in 23 playoff games to help guide his team to the Calder Cup.