Maple Leafs’ Chris Tanev Hopeful To Start Camp

Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev could very well be back in the fold when training camp gets underway in 12 days’ time, he told Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star on Friday. He’s been out of action for over eight months due to a variety of injuries that culminated in him undergoing core muscle surgery in March.

At the time, the Leafs said the procedure should allow Tanev to start camp on time. “I’m feeling good,” he told Feschuk this week. “We still have to talk to the doctors, I think, in a week or two. But the plan is hopefully I’m ready to rumble once everything gets going.”

While the hard-nosed 36-year-old has seen many of his 16 NHL seasons interrupted by injuries, never before had he been as limited as he was in 2025-26. He mustered just 11 appearances and none since Dec. 28, 2025. First, it was a suspected concussion sustained on a seemingly harmless hit in a game against the Devils in late October, keeping him out for four games. He sustained a different upper-body injury in his first game back in the lineup that ended up sidelining him for six weeks. He returned just before Christmas, but three games later, suffered a groin injury and never got back in the lineup.

This season will be the third of Tanev’s six-year, $27MM contract he signed with Toronto just before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024, thanks to the Leafs jumping the gun to acquire his signing rights from the Stars. He was exceptional in year one, putting up a team-high +31 rating in 75 regular-season games before forcing the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Panthers to Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs.

Two years on and after such a difficult campaign, it’s hard to imagine Tanev having the same impact in 2026-27. But his impact on the Leafs’ top shutdown pairing with Jake McCabe was undeniable, and if that duo can get close to posting the 55.1% expected goal share they had together in 2024-25 at even strength, Toronto will have a fighting chance at returning to the postseason after a one-year absence.

He’ll be returning to a Leafs defense corps that looks awfully familiar, save for the departure of Brandon Carlo and the infusion of Darren Raddysh on the right side of the depth chart.