See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source After forward Max Domi was ruled out of training camp for medical reasons, the Maple Leafs have added one more veteran for next week’s beginning of workouts. Defenceman Nick Blankenburg has signed a professional tryout contract with Toronto.
The 5-foot-9 Minnesota native split last season with the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. He recorded 24 combined points in 61 games, and appeared in five playoff games with the Avs, registering a goal.
During the 2024-25 season, Blankenburg played 60 games with the Preds and had 16 points. It looked like he could match the potential he showed as an offensive blueliner with the University of Michigan.
Undrafted, he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets at the end of his senior year as a Wolverine. But the odds would seem greatly stacked against Blankenburg, given the Leafs added a puck-moving defenceman of the same stature in Emil Andrae in a summer trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, and there will be only four exhibition games for all Toronto defencemen, incumbents and AHL Marlies, to be assessed by management and coaches.
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