Chris Tanev won’t be in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup Sunday night against the New Jersey Devils, but the absence isn’t tied to a fresh injury. The team is treating the 36-year-old veteran to what it described as “planned maintenance” as it works through the second half of a back-to-back.
Toronto is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, and head coach Jim Hiller is making several lineup changes for the Devils game. Tanev’s night off stands out as the biggest of them.
The move is part of a cautious plan built around the wear and tear Tanev has carried over the years, especially over the last two seasons with the Maple Leafs. It also fits into the team’s effort to manage his recovery after the injury he dealt with earlier this season.
“I mean, I can’t speak for the whole season, but, yeah, I think so,” Hiller said before Sunday’s game. “You know, that’s where we’re trying to manage them a little bit, and the guy wants to play every single game every night. But I think that will probably be part of the plan.”
Tanev returned to the lineup against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 31. Since then, he has appeared in two more games, including Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth and Saturday against the Canadiens.
His recent workload comes after a difficult 2023-24 season in which he played only 11 games because of multiple health issues, including core muscle surgery and spine trauma.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Defensive Depth Search Just Ran Into A Rival Wrinkle
The Maple Leafs are still sorting through a thinning blue line, and the need for another defense option has only grown as injuries pile up. Torontos depth situation has become more urgent with Ben Danford sidelined, leaving the club watching the waiver wire for any help it can find.
One name that has surfaced is Cameron Crotty, who was placed on waivers by Minnesota after being claimed from Ottawa. Toronto could look to make a move, but the path is not clean, since the waiver order and Ottawas position in the process could complicate things before the Leafs even get a chance to act. [Read more 🡒]
Auston Matthews Sends Frustrated Message As Leafs Problems Keep Growing
The Maple Leafs are still searching for answers after another uneven night, this one a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils that stretched their skid to three games and left them trying to steady a season that has already veered off course. Connor Hellebuyck was perfect for New Jersey, turning aside all 23 shots he faced, while Torontos issues with consistency and special teams again sat front and center as the club tried to explain why the same problems keep resurfacing.
Auston Matthews did not hide his frustration afterward, and his comments reflected a team that knows the excuses are starting to run thin. With injuries part of the backdrop, the captain said the current group has to take more responsibility for the results, a message that lands with extra weight when the losses keep piling up and the margin for patience keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Just Lost A Young Blue-Line Option At The Worst Time
The Maple Leafs were already looking for help on the blue line, and Ben Danford had been one of the young internal options with a chance to work his way into the conversation. Instead, the Toronto Marlies defenseman is dealing with a broken wrist and is expected to be out week-to-week, a tough break for a player trying to stay on the radar at exactly the right moment.
For Toronto, the timing makes the injury sting even more. With the NHL club already managing injuries on defense, Danfords setback removes a possible call-up candidate from the mix and leaves the organization weighing other ways to patch together its blue-line depth while he recovers. [Read more 🡒]