Canadiens Kept Signing Rights To Ty Smilanic, Relinquished Blake Biondi

August 15 free agency for unsigned NHL-drafted players exiting their NCAA careers is one of the most complex parts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Public resource lists (including ours) do their best to encapsulate which players come off teams’ reserve lists that day each year, but they often need a few corrections after the fact.

The Canadiens are one of those teams that need a revision. They were expected to lose the signing rights to center prospect Ty Smilanic, who spent last year with their ECHL affiliate, the Trois-Rivières Lions, after a three-year collegiate career. However, the team confirmed to Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambling that they’ve been able to retain his NHL signing rights, keeping him off the open market.

That’s because the stipulation that allows unsigned collegiate players to become free agents after their NCAA career ends hinges on them obtaining a degree, something Smilanic never did. After transferring from Quinnipiac to Wisconsin in 2022 and turning pro with the Lions less than a year later, the 22-year-old pivot never graduated.

Smilanic remains Canadiens property in the NHL’s eyes, but today’s news doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t have a valid contract signed for this season. He’s coming off a disappointing end to his collegiate tenure and an even tougher transition to the pros, recording just seven points in 31 games with Trois-Rivières last year. A third-round pick of the Panthers in 2020, Montreal acquired his signing rights in the March 2022 trade that sent defenseman Ben Chiarot to the Sunshine State.

While they’ve retained Smilianic, they let another 22-year-old center hit free agency despite being able to keep him. That’s Blake Biondi, who was eligible to remain on the Canadiens’ reserve list for another year after recently transferring to Notre Dame for his fifth and final NCAA season in 2024-25. But the Canadiens had seen enough of their 2020 fourth-round selection, filing paperwork to relinquish his signing rights and open up a reserve list spot.

Biondi spent the past four seasons playing for his hometown University of Minnesota–Duluth. In his draft year, he was named the state’s best high school hockey player after scoring 76 points in 25 games for Hermantown High, but he couldn’t consistently perform offensively for the Bulldogs. He recorded 30 goals and 58 points in 119 games there.