Chris Tanev is aiming to be back on the ice when Maple Leafs training camp opens Sept. 17, but he still has one more checkpoint to clear before that plan becomes reality.
The veteran defenseman said he feels good, though the next step is getting the medical green light. “I mean, I’m feeling good.
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.”
That would be a welcome development for Toronto, which needs Tanev healthy if it wants to get more out of its blue line. He was limited to 11 games last season, and his absence showed up on the defensive side as well as on the penalty kill.
Tanev’s road back has been a slow one since surgery in March. The injury traces back to Dec. 28 against the Detroit Red Wings, when he took a step and felt a pop.
He knew right away something was wrong. Doctors later confirmed a core-muscle injury and told him surgery was necessary, but Tanev waited, hoping he could still help Toronto in a playoff push.
Once the Leafs’ postseason hopes were gone in early March, he had the operation in New York.
He described the injury as a fluke hit, but it was still a tough scene when he had to leave the ice with help after what looked like a harmless play.
Tanev turns 37 in December, and he still has four years remaining on the six-year, $27-million deal he signed after coming over from Dallas in the summer of 2024. For Toronto, this season feels like a big one for the veteran defender. If he can put last year’s health issues behind him, it could go a long way toward stabilizing a defense that missed him badly.
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