Toronto Maple Leafs Lose Chris Tanev to Injury

Tanev Will be Missed

Tanev is a big part of the Leafs’ culture change under GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube. He is reliable defensively and is one of the top shot blockers in the NHL. Losing him for any length of time is a huge blow to the Leafs’ lineup. If he does indeed have a concussion, at his age (35 years old), it could take a while for his brain to heal. Tanev sits sixth on the team in ice time this season. Replacing Tanev, even temporarily, will be almost impossible. His defensive awareness and leadership have been crucial to the Leafs’ stability.

Under head coach Berube, Tanev and Jake McCabe have formed one of the best shutdown pairs in the NHL. With a 3-3-1 record to start the season, and now the loss of Tanev, things are going from bad to worse for the Toronto Maple Leafs. With back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, Philippe Myers will make his season debut after watching the first seven games from the press box as a healthy scratch.

Maple Leafs Moving Forward

Myers proved last season that he can provide the Leafs with serviceable minutes when called upon. However, if Tanev is expected to miss more than a week, the Leafs may have to look at calling up an NHL veteran from the Toronto Marlies. Dakota Mermis and Matt Benning are both in the AHL right now. Benning has 464 NHL games played, and Mermis has 78. Not an ideal situation, but one the Leafs will need to navigate.

For now, the Tanev situation has the Maple Leafs playing the waiting game. Should the need arise, they might have to place Tanev on long-term injury reserve (LTIR). This will free up some salary cap space and give the Leafs a chance to try and test the trade market. Depending on how that goes, Toronto will need to make another trade in the future when Tanev is ready to return.

However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves too quickly. Tanev is a tough cookie. He might not miss as much time as some fear. Hopefully, he will recover quickly and rejoin his teammates soon. Until then, it’s up to Myers and the rest of the Leafs’ defense to hold the fort until Tanev can return.