Maple Leafs' Chris Tanev Out for Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their best defensive defenceman for the rest of this season, as Chris Tanev has undergone core muscle surgery. Tanev is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp in September.

Tanev has been out for the majority of the season with multiple injuries. Back on November 1, the Leafs blueliner was stretchered off the ice and taken to hospital during a game in Philadelphia. Tanev missed multiple games and returned to the lineup in late December, to then return for just three games before leaving with a groin injury.

Tanev caps his 2025-26 season appearing in just 11 games, recording one assist and averaging 17:58 of ice time. The 36-year-old vet is in his second season as a Maple Leaf, and it turns out all those in Leafs Nation who had concerns about Tanev's durability were correct. 

The Maple Leafs are expected to move Tanev to LTIR now, and this will give them more than $4 million in cap space to work with. Expect to see Toronto selling ahead of the deadline, but now, can add a bad contract or two for the rest of this season, which should allow them to get some trade sweeteners in their upcoming trades.

The Leafs are expected to move Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Nicolas Roy, Brandon Carlo, and also have Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Max Domi who could be involved in trade offers.

Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images