Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is looking forward to coaching Sammy Blais for a third time in the NHL.
Blais, 29, was on the St. Louis Blues when they won the Stanley Cup under Berube in 2018-19. He was traded to the New York Rangers in a deal that saw the Blues acquire Pavel Buchnevich, and then two years later he was traded back to the Blues, this time seeing Vladimir Tarasenko going to Broadway. Now, having been claimed off waivers by the Maple Leafs two days shy of the 2025-26 season, Berube is going to have the opportunity to coach him again.
The Maple Leafs’ bench boss told media on Tuesday that he’s thrilled to have him back.
“He knows what I expect out of him, and I know what I’m getting out of him. I think more than anything, I know what type of player he is and what he brings to our team, and he knows what I want, so, it’s good to have him.”
Blais took turns rotating with Calle Jarnkrok on the fourth line with Nicolas Roy and Steven Lorentz on the fourth line. Absent from the skate with the main group was Easton Cowan, who was practicing on the sheet of ice right next to the rest of the team. He was sent to the Toronto Marlies as part of the Leafs’ final roster cuts, and when asked if he had any comment on Cowan not making the team, he implied that the door wasn’t closed on his NHL debut this season while remaining as mum as possible.
“We have a plan for him, I know you guys talked to Brad [Treliving] already about that,” Berube said. “We have a plan for him, that’s all I’m going to say from right now.”
Berube made sure to clarify that he believes Cowan is an NHLer and that being omitted from the roster wasn’t due to his play in training camp.
“He had a good camp. I liked him in camp. We all liked him in camp. He’s a player that’s going to help the Toronto Maple Leafs”
The Maple Leafs will open the season against the Montreal Canadiens for the sixth season in a row, hoping for better fortunes than the 48-save shutout they ran into from Canadiens netminder Sam Montembault last season. Berube is looking forward to the festivities but stressed a need to play a hard game.”
“I think it’s in a good mindset,” Berube told media. “I think we’ve had really good practices, the group is really close, they’re tight, they like each other, and I like what I see. But we have to go play games, and we gotta perform and execute.”
The Maple Leafs’ season will begin on October 8 before visiting the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
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