Chris Tanev spent much of 2025-26 on the sidelines, and the Maple Leafs felt it. After battling concussions and then undergoing core muscle surgery that cut his season short at just 11 games, the dependable defenseman went from one of Toronto’s most trusted pieces to something close to the forgotten man.
That absence mattered. Tanev signed with the Leafs as a free agent in the summer of 2024 and immediately gave them exactly what they wanted in year one: steady minutes, heavy responsibility, and a reliable presence as Toronto climbed to the top of the Atlantic Division. In 2025-26, though, the second year of his six-year contract turned into a lost one, and the Leafs sank to last place in the division.
Toronto’s collapse had plenty of moving parts - shoddy defense, subpar goaltending, a poor power play, a career-worst season from Auston Matthews, and the failure to replace Mitch Marner all played their part. Still, it’s hard to miss the connection between Tanev’s absence and the team’s slide. His return to full health looms as one of the biggest reasons the Leafs can rebound in 2026-27.
That’s especially true because the warning signs are real. Tanev turns 37 in December, is coming off surgery, and carries a concussion history.
Injuries and the possibility of decline were always the risk when former Leafs GM Brad Treliving gave him a six-year deal in his late thirties. The concussion caused by Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov was described as a fluke, but the larger reality hasn’t changed: Tanev is now more vulnerable to another head injury.
When he’s available, though, he changes the shape of a team. In 2024-25, he was a major part of Toronto’s Atlantic Division title run, helping anchor a top-ten defensive club and forming a shutdown pair with Jake McCabe. Even with the painful Game 5 and Game 7 home losses, the Leafs pushed the eventual Cup champion Florida Panthers to the edge and came within a whisker of taking a 3-0 lead in Round 2.
The drop-off last season was obvious in the numbers. Toronto allowed the second-most goals in the NHL behind the Vancouver Canucks, and its goals-against average jumped to 3.60 from 2.79 the year before. Woll and Anthony Stolarz both regressed in goal, and the team’s commitment to defense slipped, but Tanev’s missing minutes were part of the story too.
He’s never been the flashy type, and that’s exactly why coaches trust him. Across 16 NHL seasons, he has finished with a negative plus-minus only once.
He wins with calm positioning, shot blocking, and the first pass out of danger that turns defense into transition. He also logs the kind of shifts that matter most late in periods and late in games.
John Chayka has added pieces to help Toronto in 2026-27, including defenseman Darren Raddysh, who should ease some of the load on Tanev. Fresh faces like Raddysh, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and Gavin McKenna will draw attention, along with Matthews, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies.
But if the Leafs are going to get back on track, the unglamorous part of the roster still matters. Tanev has spent the last two seasons proving just how much.
In Other News...
Auston Matthews Is Facing The Pressure Leafs Fans Know Too Well
Auston Matthews 2025-26 season ended with a career-low 27 goals and a knee injury, a frustrating year for a player Toronto leans on as both captain and highest-paid star. Even by the standards that come with wearing a Maple Leafs sweater, the pressure around Matthews only grows when the goals dont come in bunches, because his production is tied so closely to how the team is judged from one season to the next.
On TSNs OverDrive, Toronto Star reporter Dave Feschuk and host Bryan Hayes framed the conversation around what comes next, with the bar for Matthews clearly set high again heading into 2026-27. For the Leafs, a return to the 50-goal range is being treated as more than a number on a stat sheet, because it would go a long way toward re-establishing Matthews standing as the player expected to carry the team when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Suddenly Face A Tough Call On One New Forward
The Maple Leafs have spent much of the offseason reshaping their roster, and the latest wave of additions up front has created a familiar problem: not enough cap room to comfortably keep everyone. With trade chatter around Morgan Rielly having cooled, attention has shifted to Dakota Joshua, a new forward whose size and style could still draw interest around the league as Toronto looks for ways to balance its books.
Joshuas situation is the kind of decision that tends to linger right up until camp, because Toronto can use another forward like him but also has to make the math work. A player with his profile can be useful both as a depth piece and as a trade chip, which leaves the Leafs weighing whether he fits better in the lineup or as part of a deal that clears space for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Face A Fast McKenna Decision With Real Stakes
Gavin McKenna is about to get a long look in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs are not treating camp like a formality. The first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft will take part in training camp and the preseason as the club gauges whether he can handle a top-six offensive role, a test that carries real weight for both the lineup and his development.
Jim Hiller and the Leafs have only a short runway to sort out where McKenna fits, with preseason games and the opening stretch of the regular season shaping the call. How he looks against NHL competition will help determine whether he stays with the team and how Toronto handles the start of his entry-level contract, a decision that could come into focus quickly once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]