Concern building for Maple Leafs around Chris Tanev injury

It's been a rough season for Chris Tanev so far in 2025-26, as he's been out with two separate injuries that has kept him out for over a month combined. He just made his return recently, and just as quick as he came back, he's gone again.

Leaving Sunday's game against Detroit, Tanev is hurting again and this time it's a lower-body issue, and though it was suspected to be a minor issue considering that it was an innocuous incident; the news isn't good.

An update from Elliotte Friedman on The FAN Hockey Show revealed that the Maple Leafs were not pleased with how Tanev's injury turned out and are concerned whatever happened is going to keep him out long-term.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for both Tanev and the Maple Leafs as the veteran blueliner is no doubt a key part of the lineup and without him, the defense takes a serious hit.

For the player though, it's gotta be a little disheartening because it's not like Tanev's getting any younger. The more he keeps getting injured, the less time he has left in his career and he surely would prefer to go out on his own terms as opposed to an early retirement due to accumulating too many injuries.

You can't really fault Tanev for getting hurt though and it's genuinely shocking he doesn't get hurt more often considering how relentlessly reckless he is. No shot is too hard or too tough for him to block, and he seems to revel in the chaos.

But that comes with a huge caveat, that being a propensity to get hurt easier and well...we've seen that in spades so far.

Tanev, 36, has two assists in 11 games so far this season, to go along with 15 blocks and a plus-eight rating in 17:58 TOI.