Why the Maple Leafs signed PTO defenceman Nick Blankenburg

Article content

🖊️ We’ve signed defenceman Nick Blankenburg to a one-year contract

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) September 27, 2026What is Blankenburg’s background?

After splitting last season between Nashville and Colorado, where he scored a playoff goal for the Avalanche, Blankenburg was surprised by the lack of interest when free agency opened on July 1. He changed representation and hired Pat Brisson, whose son Brendan was Blankenburg’s University of Michigan teammate and a forward who also signed a one-year deal with Toronto in the summer.

Blankenburg has been used in a pairing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the latter likely rotating with Blankenburg, Troy Stecher and Emil Andrae when the season starts on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens. Blankenburg can move the puck, but despite being on the smaller side, as is Andrae, he has more NHL experience.

His 176 games with Columbus, Nashville and Colorado produced 58 points. Blankenburg was a walk-on at Michigan and later earned a scholarship. Blankenburg survived a heavy hit from Sammy Blais of the Senators on Wednesday in Ottawa that gave him a couple of stitches and necessitated league concussion protocol.

Lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby