Headlines

  • Hockey Canada Announces Preliminary Roster For 2026 Olympics
  • Sabres Sign Devon Levi To Two-Year Deal
  • Flames Sign Martin Pospisil To Three-Year Extension
  • Jets, Dylan Samberg Avoid Arbitration
  • Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Good To Go For 2025-26
  • Canadiens, Jayden Struble Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Blake Biondi

East Notes: Robertson, Biondi, Gardner

July 31, 2025 at 8:29 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Even if the Maple Leafs don’t plan on keeping winger Nicholas Robertson around long-term, they should do their best to settle with the restricted free agent before his arbitration hearing on Sunday, David Alter of The Hockey News opines.

He cites a recent example in Toronto, goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who had a one-year, $3.55MM deal handed down through arbitration for the 2023-24 season. Any trade value he had was tanked by his poor performance that year – something Samsonov admitted was influenced in part by the stress of the hearing – and he ended up on waivers and later left in free agency.

Players seeing their performance and confidence dip after an arbitration hearing isn’t a new phenomenon, and it’s something players are being more public about in the last few years. Hearing reasons laid out by your team for why you should be paid less than market value is an understandably unsettling experience. For the high-ceiling Robertson, who’s already had his development and confidence stunted by long strings of healthy scratches and limited deployment that led to a trade request last year, that’s not something Toronto can afford to saddle him with to continue getting positive value out of him, whether that’s via trade or with his on-ice play.

More news and notes out of the Eastern Conference:

  • After going unsigned by the Canadiens, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020, forward Blake Biondi will begin his pro career in the Hurricanes organization this season on a contract with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The 23-year-old recently spoke to NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterberg about the significant injury-related and personal adversity he faced during his five-year run in college with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame, but called the opportunity with the Wolves “a great path for me” to continue his development toward landing an NHL contract. The former Minnesota high school star scored 12 goals and 27 points in 38 games last season for Notre Dame.
  • While Canada’s NHL goaltending stable has been relatively weak in the past few years, Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner is a name to watch in the next wave of prospects hoping to change that, writes Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The 2024 second-rounder has put up a pair of spectacular seasons in junior hockey for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, leading the league in GAA and SV% in his draft year and posting totals of 2.46 and .917, respectively, in 74 career games for the Blades with seven shutouts. While he hasn’t logged any international experience for Canada, he’s on their roster for this week’s World Junior Summer Showcase and is looking to work his way onto their roster for the main WJC in the winter.

Carolina Hurricanes| Columbus Blue Jackets| Toronto Maple Leafs Blake Biondi| Evan Gardner| Nicholas Robertson

0 comments

Canadiens Kept Signing Rights To Ty Smilanic, Relinquished Blake Biondi

August 23, 2024 at 9:44 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

August 15 free agency for unsigned NHL-drafted players exiting their NCAA careers is one of the most complex parts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Public resource lists (including ours) do their best to encapsulate which players come off teams’ reserve lists that day each year, but they often need a few corrections after the fact.

The Canadiens are one of those teams that need a revision. They were expected to lose the signing rights to center prospect Ty Smilanic, who spent last year with their ECHL affiliate, the Trois-Rivières Lions, after a three-year collegiate career. However, the team confirmed to Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambling that they’ve been able to retain his NHL signing rights, keeping him off the open market.

That’s because the stipulation that allows unsigned collegiate players to become free agents after their NCAA career ends hinges on them obtaining a degree, something Smilanic never did. After transferring from Quinnipiac to Wisconsin in 2022 and turning pro with the Lions less than a year later, the 22-year-old pivot never graduated.

Smilanic remains Canadiens property in the NHL’s eyes, but today’s news doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t have a valid contract signed for this season. He’s coming off a disappointing end to his collegiate tenure and an even tougher transition to the pros, recording just seven points in 31 games with Trois-Rivières last year. A third-round pick of the Panthers in 2020, Montreal acquired his signing rights in the March 2022 trade that sent defenseman Ben Chiarot to the Sunshine State.

While they’ve retained Smilianic, they let another 22-year-old center hit free agency despite being able to keep him. That’s Blake Biondi, who was eligible to remain on the Canadiens’ reserve list for another year after recently transferring to Notre Dame for his fifth and final NCAA season in 2024-25. But the Canadiens had seen enough of their 2020 fourth-round selection, filing paperwork to relinquish his signing rights and open up a reserve list spot.

Biondi spent the past four seasons playing for his hometown University of Minnesota–Duluth. In his draft year, he was named the state’s best high school hockey player after scoring 76 points in 25 games for Hermantown High, but he couldn’t consistently perform offensively for the Bulldogs. He recorded 30 goals and 58 points in 119 games there.

Montreal Canadiens Blake Biondi| Ty Smilanic

0 comments
    Top Stories

    Hockey Canada Announces Preliminary Roster For 2026 Olympics

    Sabres Sign Devon Levi To Two-Year Deal

    Flames Sign Martin Pospisil To Three-Year Extension

    Jets, Dylan Samberg Avoid Arbitration

    Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Good To Go For 2025-26

    Canadiens, Jayden Struble Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal

    Nicklas Backstrom Signs With SHL’s Brynäs IF

    Blackhawks, Arvid Söderblom Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal

    Carter Hart, Others Found Not Guilty In Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial

    Sharks, Avalanche Swap Daniil Gushchin, Oskar Olausson

    Recent

    Kings Sign RFA Alex Laferriere To Three-Year Deal

    Western Notes: Dostal, Jets, Garland

    Red Wings’ Jonatan Berggren Set For Watershed Season

    Metro Notes: Pyyhtia, Hunt, Lindstrom, Ritchie

    Hockey Canada Announces Preliminary Roster For 2026 Olympics

    Ducks Have Not Registered Deals For Sam Colangelo, Tim Washe

    International Notes: Henman, Little, Good Bogg

    Arbitration Breakdown: Nicholas Robertson

    Czechia’s HC Dynamo Pardubice Signs Jakub Lauko

    Free Agent Profile: Max Pacioretty

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version