Losing Sammy Blais On Waivers Won’t Hurt The Habs

It was highly speculated that the Habs thought about keeping Blais as the team’s 14th forward on the team, but decided to instead risk losing him on waivers after he had a decent Training Camp in hopes that his leadership that he brings could be used down in the AHL. Unfortunately, the waivers gamble backfired, and the Habs’ biggest rival swooped in and took him on Monday. Blais has a great history with the Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube, when the two were part of the St. Louis Blues team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019. 

In reality, the Leafs’ claiming of Blais was probably hugely in part due to the connection he had with Berube, but the fact that it’s also one of the Canadiens’ biggest rivals also hurts to see that happen.

The Leafs will be hoping that he can return to his Blues days when he was a solid 4th liner before he fell off during the 2023-24 season. With his best years likely behind him, there is still the possibility that Berube could get a little bit more out of him, but thankfully for the Habs they didn’t lose anything that should hurt this team long-term. 

The truth is, Blais’ experience and the fact that he is a Stanley Cup Champion would have been amazing for the Canadiens to have within the organization, but it’s not going to hurt the team that much. According to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, who was on the Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro on Monday, the Habs felt fine with the risk of losing him if it happened because of players like Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj, who are close to ready for the NHL. 

Being only 21 years old, these two players have a chance to be a big part of the Habs in a bottom-six role in the future, providing some physical play. The truth is likely that the Habs saw Blais being more valuable in the AHL so that he can continue to serve as a veteran presence that can help the forward prospects, much like how Kaapo Kahkonen will be doing for Jacob Fowler this year.

The thing is, Kahkonen is likely more important to the Habs’ development situation with Fowler than Blais would be for any of the young Rocket forwards. The Canadiens may have wanted Blais in Laval, but the prospects have other veterans to look up to, like Alex Belzile or Vincent Arseneault, who are journeymen in the AHL. Belzile is especially a good piece for the Habs prospects, as he’s also gotten a cup of coffee in the NHL. 

As mentioned on Sunday, with this extra spot on the Habs roster, they can actually bring up Florian Xhekaj or Owen Beck for a game if they want to put pressure on a struggling veteran or just need a physical presence in the case of bringing Xhekaj up to face a big physical team at some point during the season.

All in all, it sucks they lost Blais to the Maple Leafs for nothing, but the truth is he was not in the team’s plans at all, despite having a good enough camp to be a 14th forward. 

Do you think the Habs should have kept Blais as a 14th forward?