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Maple Leafs Place Sammy Blais On Waivers

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The Maple Leafs announced that winger Sammy Blais has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Toronto. Since the move is in conjunction with injured reserve activations for Auston Matthews and Nicolas Roy, the Leafs can place him on the non-roster list during his 24-hour waiver period to stay at the 23-play limit. Jacob Quillan was also reassigned to the Marlies as previously reported.

Blais, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Canadiens at the beginning of the season. He’s since scored a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs in eight appearances. He averaged just 8:17 of ice time per game. Despite his 41.3 CF% at 5-on-5 being the second-worst on the team, he graded out much better in other possession metrics (57.1 SF%, 56.7 xGF%, 58.8 HDCF%).

That’s a small sample but a nonetheless promising one for Blais, who didn’t appear in the NHL at all last season. He’s averaged nine goals and 23 points per 82 games in his eight-year NHL career. He’s shown the offensive utility to be a high-end bottom-six piece in a pair of previous stints with the Blues, including a 20-point run in 31 games after they reacquired him from the Rangers during the 2022-23 season. He only produced one goal and seven points in 53 games the following year before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He had to settle for a minor-league pact with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.

While Blais may not have gotten the NHL job or paycheck he wanted, it was a banner year for the 6’2″ winger in the Vancouver organization. He rattled off 14 goals and 40 points in 51 games for Abbotsford before adding 19 points in 23 playoff games en route to a Calder Cup championship. That was enough of a resurgence for Montreal to offer the Quebec native a league-minimum contract over the offseason, but the Leafs took advantage of his availability on waivers to reunite him with head coach Craig Berube, who oversaw his entrance into the league in St. Louis.

They’ll hope to retain him as minor-league depth, but his cheap cap hit, status as a pending UFA, and 265 games of NHL experience make him an attractive claim candidate for a team needing some interim help on the wings in their bottom six. It’s notable that Toronto opted to expose Blais to waivers rather than demoting the waiver-exempt Easton Cowan, signaling they’ve awarded their top prospect a full-time NHL job – at least for now. The Leafs will still have a fair amount of roster juggling to do in the coming weeks with Brandon Carlo, Anthony Stolarz, and Chris Tanev still on IR.

Since Montreal lost him on waivers earlier this season, if they submit a claim for him and are the only team to do so, they’ll be able to send him directly to the minors without waiving him again.

Maple Leafs To Activate Auston Matthews, Nicolas Roy From IR

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Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Nicolas Roy will be activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, per Mark Masters of TSN. Toronto needs to open up a pair of roster spots before it does so. One of them has been opened by reassigning center Jacob Quillan to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. Also returning to the lineup is top-line winger Matthew Knies, who’d missed the last three games with a lower-body issue but never landed on IR.

Matthews returns after a two-week absence. The Leafs captain sustained a lower-body injury when Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov leveled him on Nov. 11. He sat out the last five games, during which time the reeling Leafs went 1-2-2. Their lone win in that period, a 3-2 overtime victory over the Blues on Nov. 18, is their only victory in the last three weeks.

Without Matthews, the Leafs, who have relied heavily on their offense to outscore their defensive shortcomings this season, only managed 2.4 goals per game. While the two-time 60-goal scorer hasn’t performed to that level of dominance this season, his return remains a legitimate needle-mover as Toronto looks to string together some solid two-way efforts with five games left on its road trip. Through 17 appearances, Matthews was finishing at a 13.8% clip – the third-lowest of his 10-year career – for nine goals and five assists.

The most concerning aspect of Matthews’ performance pre-injury was his possession play. Over the past several seasons, he’d emerged as a Selke-level defensive threat in addition to his elite scoring ability, finishing as a finalist for the award in 2024. The Leafs are still outscoring opponents 16-8 at 5-on-5 with Matthews on the ice this year, but the under-the-hood numbers have taken a significant step back. Matthews had controlled 52% of shot attempts or better for seven consecutive seasons, but has just a 46.9 CF% in 2025-26.

Joining Matthews in the lineup down the middle will be Roy, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Blackhawks on Nov. 15 and had missed the last three games. Aside from his work in the faceoff dot (52.3% win rate), there hasn’t been much to like from the 28-year-old, whom the Leafs acquired from the Golden Knights in last summer’s Mitch Marner sign-and-trade. He’s been limited to just one goal and four points in 19 appearances, and his deployment as a defensive specialist at even strength has greatly limited his two-way effectiveness. He’s averaging fewer than two shot attempts per game for the first time since 2021, and the Leafs have been outscored 13-8 with him on the ice at 5-on-5.

Quillan had gotten the call-up in Roy’s absence but, as one of two waiver-exempt skaters on the Leafs’ roster, was the logical choice to be the first one sent down when Toronto needed a roster spot – especially considering he was a healthy scratch for Saturday’s loss in Montreal. The 23-year-old second-year pro earned the look after a scorching start to his season with the Marlies, rattling off two goals and 12 assists in 14 appearances for a point per game.

In two appearances, he was deployed as the Leafs’ fourth-line center between Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli. He didn’t record a point but did manage a +1 rating while averaging 8:39 of ice time per game. The undrafted free agent out of Quinnipiac laid six hits as well.

Latest On Chris Tanev, Marshall Rifai

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  • Toronto Maple Leafs blueliners Chris Tanev and Marshall Rifai were on the ice before practice today, according to The Hockey News’ Nick Barden. Tanev, 35, hasn’t played since he was helped off the ice in the team’s Nov. 1 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Tanev remains without a firm recovery timeline, though he is not expected to return anytime soon. Rifai, 27, has spent most of his time in the Maple Leafs organization at the AHL level, save for two games in 2023-24. He’s working his way back from wrist surgery and will likely be assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies whenever his recovery concludes.

Jake McCabe Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

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  • It was a difficult night for the Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday as they lost 5-2 to their arch rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, and now sit second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, one point above the Buffalo Sabres, who have a game in hand. Making last night’s game worse was the fact that veteran defenseman Jake McCabe left the game due to an upper-body injury, according to a team announcement. While we await an update revealing the extent of McCabe’s injury, it’s clear any extended absence for McCabe would be a major loss for Toronto. The team is already dealing with an injury to veteran Chris Tanev, and losing McCabe for any duration of time would mean the Maple Leafs would lose one of their most relied-upon defensemen. McCabe ranks second on the team among defensemen in time-on-ice per game, and leads Toronto defensemen in shorthanded time-on-ice per game.

Matthews And Knies Doubtful For Tonight

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While the Maple Leafs had both Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies available at practice yesterday, it appears they’ll be without both of them for at least one more game.  Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link) that both forwards are considered as doubtful for tonight against Montreal.  Matthews has missed the last week and a half with a lower-body injury while Knies hasn’t played since last weekend due to a lower-body injury of his own.  Both players are key cogs in Toronto’s top-five attack (in terms of goals scored) with Matthews being tied for second on the team in goals while Knies sits third in points but they’ll have to wait another game at least before returning.

Latest On Anthony Stolarz

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Toronto Maple Leafs starting netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out with an upper-body injury for a little over a week, and at the moment it’s unclear at what point he’ll be fit to return to the ice. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media today, including the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, that Stolarz’s injury was “worse than we thought” and that at this point he does not have a timeline for Stolarz’s return to the ice.

While Berube did go on to add that “maybe tomorrow” Stolarz will be back on the ice, it doesn’t sound as though anything related to his recovery is set in stone. The Maple Leafs could certainly use a healthy Stolarz back on the ice and playing at his best. The team currently sits 27th in the NHL with a 9-9-2 record and averages the second-highest goals-against per game. Stolarz has an .884 save percentage in 13 games this season, but performed much better last year with a .926 save percentage in 34 games.

Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Place Nicolas Roy On IR

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The Maple Leafs have activated Scott Laughton from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. The team placed center Nicolas Roy on IR in a corresponding move to open up a roster spot.

Laughton, 31, returns from his second injury absence of the season. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Bruins in just his second game back in the lineup after a lower-body injury he suffered during the preseason had him out of the lineup for nearly a month to begin the campaign. In 17:10 of total ice time against Boston and Utah three days prior, Laughton recorded a -2 rating, two shot attempts, and seven hits while going 9-for-14 on faceoffs (64.3%).

As Toronto contends with a long list of injuries, it’ll be looking to a 13-year veteran in Laughton to help stabilize its bottom-six forward group. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, Laughton will center the Leafs’ third line in his return between Steven Lorentz and rookie Easton Cowan. That trio was paired together throughout the preseason, and until Laughton sustained his injury late in camp, most thought it would start the year as Toronto’s fourth line. They’ll be getting their first look during the regular season tonight after Max Domi took Cowan’s spot on the right wing during his previous brief stint in the lineup, as Cowan was assigned to AHL Toronto to make room for Laughton rejoining the active roster last time around.

Laughton, a Toronto-area native, is in his first full season in the blue and white after being picked up at last season’s trade deadline from the Flyers, who’d drafted him No. 20 overall back in 2012. While brought in primarily as a two-way conscience for the bottom six, Laughton had routinely been a 30-to-40-point producer over the last several years in Philadelphia. That hasn’t been the case in Toronto, where the 6’1″ pivot has just two goals and four assists for six points in 35 combined regular-season and playoff games since his acquisition. With Roy, Matthew Knies, and Auston Matthews all unavailable, they need more offense out of him to help revitalize an offense that’s been limited to three goals or fewer in four straight.

Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 15, so he’s only been ruled out of tonight’s game and will be eligible to return Saturday against the Canadiens. The 6’4″ center sat out Tuesday’s win over the Blues with an upper-body injury after logging a season-high 19:45 of ice time against Chicago three days prior. Acquired from the Golden Knights in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade over the summer, Roy has struggled to produce in a third-line role and has just one goal and four points through his first 19 appearances as a Leaf.

Can The Maple Leafs Turn Things Around?

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The Maple Leafs have faced a tough start to the season, hovering around the .500 mark while adopting a high-risk style of hockey. After 20 games, they’re 9-9-2 and have only six wins in regulation, placing them seventh in the Atlantic Division. Toronto’s offense has been among the league’s best at 3.50 goals per game, managing to outscore its issues at times, but its defense has been nearly nonexistent and ranks at the bottom of the league. The Maple Leafs are going through a bit of an identity crisis as we reach the quarter mark of the season, and with injuries starting to pile up, it’s understandable to wonder if they can turn things around.

Several lingering issues remain for the Maple Leafs, some new and others dating back to last season and beyond. Toronto’s defense has struggled to start this season, after finishing eighth in the league in goals against last year. However, the blame can’t be placed solely on their defensive efforts, as this isn’t a new problem; it’s been around since last season, though masked by elite goaltending. Toronto’s shot and goal metrics have been trending downward for a while now, and this could be a case of the Maple Leafs regressing back towards the mean.

Speaking of goaltending, Toronto’s netminders have struggled this year after being a strength last season, thanks to the excellent play of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll. This season, Stolarz has had a tough start, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV%. As for Woll, he just returned against the Blackhawks this past Saturday. The Maple Leafs’ defensive issues could be addressed mainly with even average NHL goaltending. Still, it’s challenging to imagine Toronto getting the same level of goaltending as last season, which might continue to expose defensive vulnerabilities.

The Maple Leafs have spent many games this season trading high-quality chances with their opponents. While this approach works when their goaltending is elite, it becomes less effective when their netminder is below replacement level. The game on Nov. 15 against Chicago is a prime example, as Woll returned to the lineup and stopped 29 of 32 shots, four of which were of the high-danger variety. Playing loosely worked for a while against the Blackhawks, as the Maple Leafs held a 19-9 edge in high-danger chances, but they surrendered the lead in the third period for the second time in a week, ending up on the wrong side of a 3-2 score. There were positives to take from the game, including dominance in high-danger chances at five-on-five as Toronto had 16 to Chicago’s six, per Natural Stat Trick.

Defensive lapses are not the only issue facing this team right now, as injuries to key players have accumulated, forcing many of Toronto’s depth players to perform beyond their usual roles. Having Max Domi as a second-line center is not ideal and clearly contributes to Toronto’s recent decline. Domi is a good passer and has solid offensive skills, but he is not a top-nine center, let alone a second liner. Ideally, Domi would play on the wing on the third line, but injuries are testing the Maple Leafs’ depth, and someone has to move up when players go down.

Defensively, the loss of Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev has pushed Philippe Myers into the lineup. No disrespect to the 28-year-old, but he is not a top-six NHLer, as recent performances – including the game against Chicago – have shown. Myers wasn’t signed to be a top-six Maple Leafs defender, but circumstances are what they are, and sometimes depth players need to step up when injuries mount. The recent waiver claim of Troy Stecher will likely send Myers back to the press box as a healthy scratch, but it’s hardly fair to expect Stecher to be the solution either. The Maple Leafs need to get healthy on defense (and at forward and in net) if they want any chance of making the playoffs, which leads us to a thought on the minds of Maple Leafs fans everywhere.

On the same night the Maple Leafs lost to the Blackhawks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that the Maple Leafs are looking for roster-for-roster trades. It makes sense for Toronto to explore this, especially since they don’t have a first-round pick until 2028 and lack significant prospect capital unless they consider trading Easton Cowan, which they aren’t considering. The Maple Leafs reportedly tried to acquire defenseman Rasmus Andersson last season from the Calgary Flames, as well as forward Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues. TSN’s Darren Dreger doesn’t see a fit for Toronto and Andersson, given how little trade capital the Maple Leafs have, and the Flames might not want to do business with their former general manager.

General manager Brad Treliving has a few players they can consider trading, such as Max Domi, Nicholas Robertson, or even Carlo, but who and what he chooses to move will depend on what he sees as a need. It’s fair to say the Maple Leafs need a defenseman, but they could also benefit from an impact forward to slot into their top six. Toronto didn’t adequately replace Mitch Marner, and although their offense is rolling, they still have a gap on their top two lines. They don’t need to acquire a player of Marner’s caliber, but they certainly need a reliable performer who can push some of Toronto’s depth players down the lineup to their proper spots.

Right now, things don’t look good for Toronto this season, and the team clearly lacks confidence, as shown by their on-ice behavior whenever they give up a goal. There aren’t many signs that the team is about to turn things around, but there are reasons to stay hopeful. If Toronto can get healthy, that will give them a boost. With Woll back and Stolarz not far from returning, their goaltending should improve soon. If they can make one or two small trades for immediate help, that should help the depth players find their proper roles, making the team stronger overall. None of this is sure to happen, and Toronto could keep slipping, but the season isn’t over yet—even if it doesn’t look promising.

Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies Out Day-To-Day

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that top winger Matthew Knies will miss Tuesday night’s match against the St. Louis Blues with a day-to-day, lower-body injury. He joins a laundry list of injuries in Toronto that also includes Auston Matthews, Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev, and Anthony Stolarz.

Interestingly, Knies’ injury will bring Toronto up to $36MM in cap sapce on the injury list, nearly 40 percent of their total cap, per James Mirtle of The Athletic.

Knies, Toronto’s star winger, will join the club’s top center and starting goaltender on the sideline. He has been heavily leaned on over the course of the year, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time through 19 games so far. Knies has rewarded that deployment with a career-year early on. He has five goals and 22 points on the year, enough to rank third on the team in scoring behind William Nylander (26) and John Tavares (24).

Knies was well-due for the strong start. He has assumed the role of Matthews’ handcuff after century-scorer Mitch Marner moved to the Vegas Golden Knights this summer. Knies posted 58 points, split evenly, in 78 games from a second-line role last season. That performance was itself a step up from his standout rookie year, when he scored 15 goals and 35 points in 80 games.

Tavares and Nylander will take over the top line with Matthews and Knies on the shelf. Next to them will again be shoot-first winger Nicholas Robertson, while Matias Maccelli will return to a top-six role behind him. Robertson, Maccelli, and rookie Easton Cowan will be the beneficiaries of Knies’ ice time for the duration of his absence.

Latest On Matthews, Tanev, Roy

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  • Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving confirmed today, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, that team captain and franchise center Auston Matthews won’t play today or on Thursday due to the injury he suffered Nov. 11 against the Boston Bruins. Matthews did begin skating again today, but still needs some time before he’s ready to return to game action. The 28-year-old has scored 14 points in 17 games this season, and had 33 goals, 78 points in 67 games in 2024-25. In addition to speaking on Matthews, Treliving also said that veteran defenseman Chris Tanev’s health status will be re-evaluated in a week or two, and head coach Craig Berube confirmed that center Nicolas Roy will miss a few games with an injury of his own. Tanev suffered his injury Nov. 1 while Roy, who has four points in 19 games this season, played in the team’s last game on Saturday.

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