Leafs place Sammy Blais on waivers

The Leafs also assigned forward Jacob Quillan to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. If Blais clears the wire on Thursday, he could be joining Quillan and the Marlies.

Mainly sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch, the Montmagny, Que. native has appeared in just eight games, including last Saturday when the Leafs lost to the Montreal Canadiens. He scored one goal and two assists for three points in his short stint, posting a plus/minus of -2 while averaging a little over eight minutes of ice time per game.

Blais’ path to Toronto wasn’t necessarily clear-cut. The 29-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Canadiens this past offseason, but didn’t make the NHL roster. When he was placed on waivers, the Leafs claimed Blais.

Blais’ contract carries a cap hit of $775,000. It’s 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, Blais 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.