There have been rumblings about the Leafs having Tanev high on their list of players to target if he makes it to market on July 1st. While some others are also rumoured to tickle the fancy of Brad Treliving, it’s Tanev that I’m putting an unreasonably high percent chance on becoming a Leaf.
Chris Tanev
Position: Defense
Shoots: Right
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 197lbs
The reason I’m putting so much faith in Tanev becoming a Maple Leaf is simple, not only does he have history with GM Brad Treliving, but he is from Toronto and it’s known that he was a Leafs fan growing up. I feel as if he’d be happy to join his hometown team and they are in need of his services. They have the capspace to sign him as well, so it does appear that the stars have aligned to make it happen.
Tanev brings a quiet, shot blocking game to the ice. He isn’t about to lay big hits or rush the puck up ice, but his defensive awareness, high end penalty killing and the fact that he’s a respected leader are all things the Leafs could use more of. In the playoffs Tanev recorded 73 blocked shots in 19 games for the Dallas Stars. Only Jacob Trouba had a higher BLK/60 than Tanev did from players that made the 2nd round or better. Likewise, in the regular season, his 207 blocked shots were 3rd in the NHL, while his 8.41 BLK/60 were 4th behind Nick Seeler, Alec Martinez and Nick Bonino (minimum 6 games played).
With just 19pts in 75 games, Tanev isn’t much of an offensive threat, but he can play “safety blanket” for Morgan Rielly and, at the age of 34, he’s still capable of playing 19-20 minutes a night.
The Dallas Stars are rumoured to be pushing hard to re-sign him. After joining the Stars at the trade deadline he quickly became a big part of their club and was very impressive as they made their way to the Western Conference Finals before being put out by the Edmonton Oilers.
I believe the big thing to remember with Tanev is that he isn’t about to put the team on his back and carry them himself. He’s not a #1 defender, but he’s a fantastic complementary piece that leads the way through sacrificing his body on the ice. The Leafs are notoriously unwilling to play that way, so the hope would be some of that grit and determination could seep into the game of other players on the team by having him around.
@AFPAnalytics are projecting Tanev’s next contract at 3 years and for just under $4.5M per season. I think, if he’s committed to joining the Leafs, that he could be signed for 2 years instead of 3 at a similar caphit. If that were the case I believe he’d come at little risk, as the term would be short, but if they absolutely have to offer the 3rd year it should be done. With a cap ceiling that’s moving up quickly, his 3rd year at $4.5M would be far from detrimental to team success due to the cap ceiling possibly closing in on the $100M mark.