With the 2024-25 NHL season less than a week away, players attending training camps on PTOs either are earning their spot on the roster or are being released.
Blues’ RFA Nikita Alexandrov attended training camp on a PTO and converted it into a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
However, the same can’t be said for an ex-Blues forward, who was a member of the team in their 2019 Stanley Cup Championship run.
Sammy Blais signed an AHL contract with the Abbotsford Canucks in late August and attended Vancouver Canucks training camp on a PTO. He played four pre-season games for them but failed to convert his minor-league deal into an NHL contract.
In four games with the Canucks, Blais was held to no points and only mustered up three shots on net and was a minus-3. He has been released from his PTO by Vancouver and relocated to Abbotsford.
He played his usual physical brand of hockey, recording four hits in his first appearance against Seattle and six against Seattle again in Vancouver’s third pre-season game (No hits were recorded in the Canucks versus Calgary game on Sept. 25).
Blais played a physically punishing fourth-line role with the Blues when they won the Stanley Cup in 2019. He returned to the organization in a deal during the 2022-23 season when the organization dealt Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers.
Last season, the 6-foot-2 winger played 53 games for St. Louis, recording one goal, seven points, and 31 penalty minutes.
The Quebec City native is 28 years old and a full season of him dominating and operating as a top producer at the AHL level could rejuvenize his confidence.
Related: Justin Faulk Was Not Right Last Season; He Knew It, St. Louis Blues Knew It; Defenseman Is Healthy Again, Feeling Good About 2024-25
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