Sammy Blais is headed back to the Montreal Canadiens after a brief stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The forward was placed on waivers by Toronto on Wednesday afternoon and, according to TSN's Chris Johnston, was claimed by the Canadiens 24 hours later.
Toronto initially picked up Blais off waivers on Oct. 6, via the Canadiens, who tried to get him through waivers to send him to the AHL. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has familiarity with the forward, going back to their days with the St. Louis Blues, when they won the Stanley Cup.
Former Maple Leafs Defender Tyson Barrie Reveals Mike Babcock Story Which Occurred After Joining TorontoBarrie's game with the Maple Leafs transformed after the club fired Babcock and promoted Sheldon Keefe in November 2019.Blais played eight games with the Maple Leafs, scoring one goal and two assists. He played a bottom-six role for Toronto and Berube, averaging 8:17 of ice time through his entire tenure.
The Maple Leafs recouped a couple of their injured players on Wednesday, including Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nicolas Roy. They needed to make a few roster moves to activate all three players, and waiving Blais was one of them.
Toronto also sent Jacob Quillan back to the AHL's Toronto Marlies after he played two NHL games.
The Maple Leafs have activated F Auston Matthews and F Nicolas Roy from IR.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 26, 2025
F Jacob Quillan has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
F Samuel Blais has been placed on waivers.
The Maple Leafs are also dealing with a couple of injuries to their defensemen and Anthony Stolarz. Chris Tanev remains out long-term with an upper-body injury after going off on a stretcher in their game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 1.
Brandon Carlo (lower body) skated with teammates for the first time in practice on Thursday in Washington, one day ahead of Toronto's matchup against the Capitals. Carlo has been out since Nov. 13 versus the Los Angeles Kings.
Stolarz hasn't been seen since leaving after one period with an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 11. The hope one week ago was that Stolarz would skate last Friday, however, that didn't happen.
It's unknown if he's been on the ice since Toronto left for a five-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon.
Craig Berube Encourages ‘Glass Half Full’ Mindset As Maple Leafs Prepare or Longest Road Trip Amid Struggling SeasonDespite sitting dead last in the East, head coach Craig Berube is urging the Maple Leafs to embrace a "glass half-full" mentality to spark a turnaround on their critical five-game road trip.Blais being claimed by the Canadiens means Montreal can now send him straight to AHL Laval, since they were the ones who first placed the forward on waivers at the beginning of the season. However, the Canadiens do have a roster spot open for Blais if they choose to keep him in the NHL.
In 265 NHL games, with the Blues, Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers, Blais has scored 28 goals and 74 points.
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