Habs sign Samuel Blais

Montreal’s second signing of the free agent period is one that will bring them some physicality.  The team announced that they’ve signed winger Samuel Blais to a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000.

The 29-year-old Quebec native is a veteran of 257 career appearances at the NHL level, the bulk of that time coming with St. Louis.  Blais also spent parts of two seasons with the Rangers after being acquired for Pavel Buchnevich in a move that worked out much better for St. Louis than it did with New York.

While Blais has one decent offensive season under his belt (a 25-point effort in 2022-23), he has been more of a fourth-line energy player at the top level.  In 2023-24, he had a goal and six assists in 53 games in a little under 10 minutes of playing time per game but also added 194 hits, the second-best total of his career.  Overall, in his 257 outings, he has 27 goals, 44 assists, and 835 hits.

Despite that, Blais wasn’t able to land an NHL contract last summer.  He briefly considered KHL opportunities but ultimately accepted an AHL pact with Abbotsford, Vancouver’s farm team.  Given a chance to play a bigger role than he had in quite some time, Blais notched 14 goals and 26 assists in 51 regular season games.  In the playoffs, he was more productive, tallying six goals and 13 helpers in 23 contests (along with a whopping 77 penalty minutes), helping lead the Canucks to the Calder Cup title.

It will be interesting to see what the Habs have in mind for Blais.  It’s possible that they want him to play a veteran role in Laval as he did with Abbotsford last season.  However, they’ve lost some physicality on the wing this summer and they might envision him filling the role vacated by Michael Pezzetta (who signed with Toronto today) as the 13th forward who can come into the lineup when injuries arise or when they’re facing more physical opponents.

Blais’ Stats: