Maple Leafs' Chris Tanev to miss 'significant' time

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been hammered by the injury bug and it's not letting up heading into 2026. Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed on Wednesday that defenceman Chris Tanev has suffered a groin injury, and is going to be for a 'significant' amount of time. There is a possibility he's out for the entire season, especially if surgery is the route they take.

They’re looking at things going forward here, so I’m not gonna speculate on what they’re gonna exactly do. But he’s gonna be out a while. - Berube, Dec.31

Tanev has dealt with concussion issues this season and suffered his groin injury during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings last weekend. He finished that game with one shot on goal, four blocked shots and playing over 20 minutes of ice-time.

In 11 games this season, Tanev has averaged 17:58 of ice-time per game, and has chipped in with two assists. He makes up a huge part of the Leafs defensive structure, and they're certainly going to miss his shut-down abilities. Look for Troy Stecher to be given even more of a role in early 2026 for the Maple Leafs.

The injury news didn't end there. Berube confirmed forward Dakota Joshua is also going to miss at least a few weeks as he's dealing with a kidney injury, and reportedly suffered internal bleeding after a game against the Red Wings.

the Chris Tanev energy pic.twitter.com/y1FG6YAnFd
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 31, 2025

Scary scene in Philly as Chris Tanev had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher after this collision with Matvei Michkov pic.twitter.com/HZNRQW320l
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 2, 2025

Don't be surprised to see Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving make a couple of trades to recoup some of his roster heading into the second half of the season.