The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a devastating blow to their playoff hopes as veteran defenseman Chris Tanev may be done for the regular season. According to reports from The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta, Tanev is scheduled to meet with a surgeon in the coming week to discuss potential surgery. If he proceeds with the operation, he could be sidelined until late April or early May, meaning Toronto would likely be without one of their top defensive anchors for the remainder of the regular season.
Surgery Could End His Season
Tanev sustained the injury during Toronto's 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on December 28th, though the exact cause of the injury remains unclear. Initially, the team expected him to miss significant time, but the full extent of the damage has only now come to light. The upcoming consultation with a surgeon will determine whether he needs an operation, and if so, the Leafs would be looking at a return sometime in the playoffs, assuming they qualify. For a team already struggling defensively, this news couldn't come at a worse time.
A Season Plagued by Injuries
This latest setback is just another chapter in what has been a nightmare season for Tanev's health. The December 28th game was only his third appearance after missing 27 of the previous 28 games with an upper-body injury. While Tanev has dealt with various injuries throughout his career, he has never missed this much time in a single season since playing just 42 games during the 2017-18 campaign with the Vancouver Canucks. In the 11 games he has managed to suit up for this season, Tanev has recorded just two assists.
The loss of Tanev is particularly painful for a Leafs defense that ranks 17th in the league in five-on-five expected goals against per 60 minutes at 2.74. With Tanev, Brandon Carlo, and depth option Dakota Mermis all out of the lineup, Toronto has been forced to lean heavily on a top four of Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Troy Stecher. The bottom pairing has been a rotating door of Simon Benoit, Philippe Myers, and Matt Benning, none of whom provide the steady presence that Tanev brings.
The Leafs are now in a difficult position. They signed Tanev to a six-year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, and many believed the lengthy term was structured to lower the annual cost with the expectation that he might end up on long-term injured reserve in the later years. However, it's starting to look like that scenario could arrive much sooner than anyone anticipated. Toronto will need to find answers on the blue line if they want to make a serious playoff push without one of their most reliable defensemen.
Post a Comment