Nick Blankenburg is in Toronto on a PTO, and the Maple Leafs are giving him a real chance to carve out a job on the blue line.
That move makes sense for a team heading into camp with high expectations and a roster that still needs some extra defensive insulation. Toronto’s forward group is largely sorted out, but the back end is thinner beyond Philippe Myers, which is part of why the club brought in another option.
The Maple Leafs announced Blankenburg’s PTO and will get a close look at what the offensive defenceman can bring during camp.
Blankenburg is a right-shot defenceman listed at 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds. In 2025-26, he played 61 games, posted 24 points, blocked 59 shots, finished minus-10 and averaged 16:48 of ice time.
He entered pro hockey as an undrafted free agent signed by the Blue Jackets out of Michigan. Before that, he spent four seasons in the NCAA, putting up 68 points in 133 games and serving as captain of the Wolverines in his final year.
His NHL arrival went smoothly enough, too. In his debut season, he played seven games and recorded three points.
His strongest NHL year came in 2024-25, when he produced 16 points in 60 games, finished minus-two and logged a career-high 19:33 per night. Nashville clearly trusted him with a bigger workload.
For a player his size, Blankenburg brings more edge than you might expect. He is not going to overwhelm anyone with offense, but he does offer more upside in that area than Troy Stecher and Myers. He could also end up competing with Emil Andrae for a third-pairing role, and his right-handed shot gives Jim Hiller another useful piece to mix and match.
So what does Blankenburg have to do to stick? Not a whole lot beyond showing the same version of himself he’s been for the last two seasons.
He already has better numbers and stronger underlying metrics than Myers, and Stecher is 32, which gives Blankenburg the appeal of a younger player with more room to grow. If there are questions about Chris Tanev’s status this season, Blankenburg also gives the Maple Leafs a possible stand-in in the meantime. That would allow Oliver Ekman-Larsson to move up beside Jake McCabe, while he and Andrae handle the two-way work on the third pair.
The challenge is straightforward, even if the road is not. Blankenburg has to outplay Myers and Stecher, and he also has to avoid getting passed by prospects such as Ben Danford or Vinny Borgesi, who share some of his size and style.
Toronto clearly saw enough to bring him in. Now it comes down to whether he can turn that PTO into an NHL contract.
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