{"id":449136,"date":"2026-02-06T17:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/449136\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T17:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:11:29","slug":"why-the-samuel-blais-waiver-decision-is-a-big-win-for-kent-hughes-and-the-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/449136\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Samuel Blais waiver decision is a big win for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Jan <\/p>\n

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It must have been a sigh of relief heard inside the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 front office earlier today.<\/p>\n

The decision to place Samuel Blais on waivers came with its share of risk, but the outcome is perfect for the Canadiens.<\/p>\n

As reported earlier, the Quebec-born forward went unclaimed and will report to Laval.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, keeping a veteran with a Stanley Cup ring within the organization is a win in itself.<\/p>\n

But Kent Hughes\u2019 real stroke of genius lies in the financial details of the move.<\/p>\n

By assigning Blais to the Rocket now, the Canadiens save $775,000 against the salary cap during the break.<\/p>\n

“The Canadiens will save on the cap ($775,000 cap hit) during the break.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Blais will be able to play in Laval, while giving the Canadiens more flexibility for callups after the break.”<\/p>\n

– Marco D’Amico<\/p>\n

That\u2019s money in the bank that could become crucial heading into the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s call it like it is: every dollar matters with today\u2019s hard salary cap.<\/p>\n

Kent Hughes calculated his move perfectly with Samuel Blais and the Montreal Canadiens pull off a very solid win<\/p>\n

Beyond the immediate savings, this strategic decision gives the general manager some much-needed breathing room.<\/p>\n

As D\u2019Amico points out, the move gives the Canadiens greater flexibility to make call-ups after the break.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the key battleground for a team looking to evaluate its options.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Blais will get the chance to play meaningful minutes with the Rocket.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an ideal scenario: the player stays in game shape, the young players benefit from his leadership, and the big club maximizes its cap space.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clean, efficient management that shows the front office has a clear plan in place.<\/p>\n

Hughes keeps his depth intact without sacrificing an asset for nothing.<\/p>\n

In industry terms, this is what you call a productive day at the office.<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

FEVRIER 4|806 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Why the Samuel Blais waiver decision is a big win for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens<\/p>\n

Are you surprised that no team claimed Samuel Blais?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images It must have been a sigh of relief heard inside…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[265,5,1749,1527,264,21,5147,4,42257,19456,6245,11839],"class_list":{"0":"post-449136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-montreal-canadiens","8":"tag-canadiens","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-kent-hughes","11":"tag-laval-rocket","12":"tag-montreal","13":"tag-montreal-canadiens","14":"tag-montrealcanadiens","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-roster-move","17":"tag-samuel-blais","18":"tag-transaction","19":"tag-waivers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116024803041267975","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}