The Toronto Maple Leafs got some nasty injury news following their embarrassing loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
It wasn’t bad enough that the Maple Leafs lost 5-2 to their former coach, Sheldon Keefe. It wasn’t bad enough that they got evidently outplayed. On top of everything, the Leafs lost defenseman Chris Tanev in the second period of their showdown with the Devils.
Here’s a look at the collision that led to Tanev leaving the game:
The injury occurred at the two-minute mark of the second period. Tanev collided with Devils forward Dawson Mercer, leaving the veteran blueliner on the ice, struggling to get up.
The Maple Leafs’ training staff attended to Tanev, helping him off the ice. While Tanev skated off on his own power, it was clear that the hit shook him up.
According to Luke Fox, Tanev will miss some time.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. According to renowned sports physician Dr. Harjas Grewal, things could be much worse for Tanev and the Maple Leafs.
Per Grewal, Tanev likely entered concussion protocol. If Tanev does indeed have a concussion, that could mean roughly two weeks to resume skating.
However, the injury could be even worse. Per Grewal, the injury could result in a separated shoulder or broken collarbone. Judging from Fox’s update, that Tanev’s injury is of the upper-body variety, there’s reason to believe it could be a shoulder issue.
Losing Tanev would be a devastating blow to the Leafs’ blueline and a strong test of its depth. But assessing from the second period against the Devils, the Leafs could not adjust without Tanev.
Maple Leafs Knew about Tanev’s Injury History
Tanev’s rough-and-tumble style of play is a matter of public record. He’s a tough, hard-nosed blueliner who pounds opposition consistently. He blocks shots and puts his body in the way of pucks.
That style of play has made him rack up injuries over the years. Tanev has been relatively consistent over the last couple of seasons. He played in 75 games last season, while another 75 in 2023-24, while splitting time with the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars.
The season before that, he was limited to 65 games, and 56 two seasons before that. During his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, Tanev missed time at various points, playing just 42 games in 2017-18.
Myers to Step Up in Tanev’s Place
The next man up for the Toronto Maple Leafs could be Phillippe Myers. He’s on the depth chart as the seventh defenseman and could line up with Simon Benoit on the third pairing. That could mean Oliver Ekman-Larsson moving up to play with Jake McCabe as part of the shutdown pairing.
However, the more physical Benoit could get the nod alongside McCabe. McCabe will need a defensively responsible partner to back him up. McCabe was evidently burned on the ice without Tanev.
So, having someone like Benoit or Ekman-Larsson could be a stopgap solution for the Maple Leafs’ injury situation on the blue line.
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