Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev blasted the team's load management system as he was more than willing (and healthy) against the Devils - they just said no.
On Sunday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were without Chris Tanev for what the team called 'load management' which essentially boiled down to giving the long-time veteran a night off.
That may have been the team's biggest mistake as they got trounced 4-0 by the Devils and were lacking their defensive anchor on the ice. Appearing in nine games this season, Tanev has one assist and a plus-2 along with 19 blocks in 17:46 TOI.
While Tanev might not be that premium shutdown guy like he once was - he's still an extremely effective defender.
Tanev frustrated with Maple Leafs' new load management rules
Well, if you were to ask Tanev how he felt about the night off, you'd think for a guy who was injured so often he would appreciate it. Instead, he was pretty upset.
Tanev took time to put the Maple Leafs medical staff on blast for basically telling him to sit against the Devils despite Tanev not having any injuries, and a burning desire to play:
I don't agree with it. I want to play.
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He couldn't have said it more succinctly than that, and despite him being short on words, it's definitely not short on intent.
Tanev knows that the team is struggling and knows that the responsibility lies on guys like him, not 18-year-old rookies or players who are making their Leafs debut. It's not the time to be resting players unless absolutely necessary.
Toronto's careful approach is going to haunt them sooner than later
So what now? You're going to effectively handicap your blue line on the off chance he gets hurt? Guess who else can get hurt? Everyone else in the lineup. Injuries are more frequent yes, but give Tanev a little bit more credit and let him play.
He missed three weeks in October, came back for three games against Vancouver, Utah, and Montreal but was sat on a back-to-back. Toronto has four games this week - are you going to risk losing two of them to sit Tanev?
No wonder he's frustrated, and while there is a lot of positives about the Maple Leafs medical staff, perhaps playing it too carefully is going to be prohibitive as opposed to beneficial, while leading to more tension in the locker room.
You already have a team thin on defense, and instead of focusing on winning games it's about trying to keep people healthy. At some point, one priority is going to take over and right now - winning seems to be the least of their concerns.
At least, that's how it looks benching Tanev - and he feels the same way.
Do you agree or disagree with Chris Tanev's comments about the Maple Leafs' medical staff?
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