Maple Leafs sign Blake Smith to entry-level contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Thursday that the club has signed undrafted defenseman Blake Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract set to begin in 2025-26.

Through 64 appearances this season with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds, Smith posted 10 goals and 22 assists to rank second in team scoring among defensemen with 32 points coupled with 54 penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating. Smith then added one point and six penalty minutes through five postseason outings.

In all, through four seasons in the OHL split between the Oshawa Generals and Firebirds, the 20-year-old native of Oshawa, Ont., totaled 13 goals and 41 assists for 54 points through 244 career contests. The 6-foot-5 rearguard was originally chosen by the Generals in the seventh round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection.

Of note, during his 19 games with the Generals in 2022-23, Smith was part of a defensive core that also included Ben Danford, the Maple Leafs’ first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Now in his third season with Oshawa, Danford posted 25 points in 61 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

For Smith, the budding blue-liner is in the fourth player to sign his entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs in recent weeks following Prince George Cougars forward Borya Valis, Union Garnet Chargers defenseman John Prokop, and Dartmouth Big Green forward Luke Hayes.

For the Maple Leafs, on the season the club sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 48-26-4 record and 100 points. Following Wednesday’s overtime victory over the Atlantic Division rival Tampa Bay Lightning, the Maple Leafs will aim for their second consecutive win when the club retakes the ice Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Earlier in April, the Maple Leafs punched their ticket to the upcoming postseason, marking an NHL-leading ninth consecutive season in which the club will compete for the Stanley Cup.