Canadiens sign Sammy Blais to one-year contract
A Stanley Cup champion is staying north of the border.
On Tuesday, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced the team has signed forward Sammy Blais. The deal carries a cap hit of $775,000 through the 2025-26 season.
Les Canadiens s'entendent sur les termes de contrats d'une saison à un volet avec l'attaquant Samuel Blais et le gardien Kaapo Kahkonen.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on one-year, one-way contracts with forward Samuel Blais and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.#GoHabsGo |… pic.twitter.com/09pl0O7B47
This is Blais’ 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 American Hockey League contract with the Vancouver Canucks’ primary affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
While he didn’t get a shot at the NHL this past year, Blais found success in the AHL. After scoring 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 51 games during the regular season, the Montmagny, Quebec native notched six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 23 postseason games. He helped Abbotsford win the franchise’s first Calder Cup at the expense of new teammate and former Charlotte Checkers goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.
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.
Blais hasn’t appeared in an NHL regular-season contest since April 2024. He has spent six of his eight seasons in the league with St. Louis, playing with the New York Rangers from 2021 to the trade deadline in February 2023. With a rising Habs team, the 29-year-old has a chance to provide some veteran experience on a squad filled with young talent.
In 257 NHL games, Blais has scored 27 goals and 44 assists for 71 points, including eight points in 27 playoff games.
According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens are projected to be a little over $4.1 million over the cap next season.