Maple Leafs on Chris Tanev injury: 'You feel for him'

For Chris Tanev to be on the sideline for the foreseeable future, the Maple Leafs know it’s serious.

“What he does play through at times is definitely significantly more than the average guy,” Leafs centre John Tavares said on Thursday after the team’s morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. “He has that type of mentality, he has that type of pain tolerance.

“You feel for him. It has been a challenging year. He’s a guy who has played through a lot over the course of his career.”

It’s a groin injury, suffered on Sunday in Detroit against the Red Wings, that Tanev is dealing with now. With the news on Wednesday via Leafs coach Craig Berube that Tanev will miss significant time, the Leafs will have to forge ahead without their best defenceman.

Not that any National Hockey League team has an easy schedule given the condensed nature of games with the Olympic break, but the Leafs are embarking on a laborious stretch.

The home game on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets kicks off a span of 18 Leafs games in 34 days before the break. Winning at least two out of every three will probably be required to keep the Leafs in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, as they were four points shy of a spot prior to NHL games on Thursday.

Couple that with the challenge of overcoming the loss of a player of Tanev’s stature, well, if we don’t know what kind of team the Leafs are now, we’re going to find out between now and the first week of February.

“People always talk about the little things and what those are, and he does them as good as anybody,” Tavares said. “It’s not always what is super-sexy or gets you on the highlights or on the scoresheet.”

Rally around Tanev

Among those attributes for Tanev are poised puck control and transition out of the defensive zone, blocking shots and strong positional play.

Morgan Rielly mostly has been been durable during NHL carer, but has missed chunks of time with various injuries.

The veteran defenceman knows that part of the off-ice approach in the coming weeks is to rally around Tanev. The latter had played in just three games after returning from an upper-body injury suffered on Nov. 1. In total, Tanev has skated in just 11 games in 2025-26.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Rielly said. “He’s one of those guys who plays through anything. That would be hard on him. You feel for him going through what he went through the first time around, when he missed time and now to be in a tough position again is challenging.

“But he’ll be OK. We want to support him and make sure that he doesn’t miss a beat.”

Said Tavares: “(We’ll) make sure he’s in and around the group, and that he’s still a big part of the conversations we have daily about about the team and how we’re playing. His influence that way (is important).”

Nylander inching way back

A lower-body injury was going to keep William Nylander out of the game against the Jets, the winger’s third absence in a row, and he is probably questionable at best for the Leafs’ next game. That’s Saturday night in New York against the Islanders.

Nylander took to the ice on his own on Thursday before the Leafs’ morning skate.

“I would say he’s doubtful to practise with us tomorrow, but you never know,” Berube said. “He comes in tomorrow and he’s feeling like he wants to get on the ice with the team, hopefully that’s true, and he is feeling better. We’ll have to see.”

If Nylander does not practise on Friday, don’t count on seeing him in a game until next Tuesday, when the Leafs play host to the Florida Panthers.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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