The Montreal Canadiens have reclaimed forward Samuel Blais off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, sending him directly to Laval to join the Rocket. No other team placed a claim, leaving Toronto’s brief experiment with the Montmagny native abruptly closed.
Blais had been picked up by the Leafs on October 6, shortly after signing with Montreal during the summer of 2025. In eight games with Toronto, he registered one goal and two assists, including a two-point performance in his season debut on October 29.
The 29-year-old winger is under contract only for this season, earning $775,000. Over his NHL career with St. Louis, New York, and Toronto, Blais has collected 28 goals and 74 points in 265 games.
Last year, he played in the AHL with Abbotsford, scoring 14 goals and 40 points in 51 games, and capped the campaign by lifting the Calder Cup.
Montreal’s decision to reclaim Blais underscores both the volatility of waiver-wire moves and the Canadiens’ willingness to recycle talent that briefly slipped away. For Toronto, it marks another failed bet in a season already under scrutiny.