The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year, $27M contract. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $4.5M.
This signing vindicates Toronto’s acquisitions of Tanev’s rights following the draft, with the Leafs sending a 2026 seventh-rounder back to the Dallas Stars.
Tanev has become one of the league’s most sought-after defensemen, making his looming free agency headlining news when it was learned that he wouldn’t re-sign with the Dallas Stars.
Dallas paid a pretty penny for Tanev at the trade deadline, dealing away prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick used on Jacob Battaglia and a 2026 third-round pick.
But Tanev quickly vindicated its efforts, seamlessly stepping onto the team’s top line. He only managed five points in 19 regular-season games, bleak scoring that dropped to just two points in 19 postseason games, but Tanev made sure to find other ways to be effective.
He recorded 30 hits and 73 blocked shots during the postseason, leading the league in the latter stat even despite being eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
The defiant showing in Dallas continued the legend around Tanev’s defensive impacts. He began his career as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Vancouver Canucks in 2010 following the end of his freshman year at R.I.T.
Vancouver put Tanev to quick work, awarding him the first 29 games of his NHL career in the 2010-11 season. He’d record just one assist as a rookie, adding two more in 25 NHL games during his sophomore season, while still searching for an everyday role in the NHL.
He’d find his first two NHL goals in Year 3, posting seven points in 38 games, and finally command an everyday role in the lineup in Year 4.
Tanev quickly found his way to Vancouver’s top pairing in his first full year, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time a game and scoring 17 points in 64 games during the 2013-14 campaign.
He found the style that worked for him that year, holding firmly to it in the 10 seasons since. Now 34, Tanev has accumulated 792 games and 157 points in the NHL, spread across three teams.
Toronto will soon become Tanev’s fourth organization, with this deal returning him to his hometown club and finally awarding it a top-line defender it can trust.
It’s been a grueling few years for the Leafs, who have had to lean on players like T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe to fill top-pair minutes next to stout offensive-defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Tanev’s addition should form a much more natural pairing with Rielly. The two are opposites in the best way — and Tanev’s control over the back end could give Rielly a chance to once again chase high scoring after posting 58 points this year and 68 points two seasons ago.
With the Tanev deal in place, Toronto is down to just $7.58M in cap space, with one forward spot and two goalie spots yet to be filled. It is likely to prioritize adding a backup goalie next after extending Joseph Woll and expressing interest in Anthony Stolarz.
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