Growing Concerns for Chris Tanev and Maple Leafs After Doctor's Prognosis on Injury Play

With the Toronto Maple Leafs already dealing with enough worries ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, the injury to Chris Tanev has dealt a major blow to a key contributor to the team and now the pressure's on.

Fans were concerned that it could be serious and with no real idea the extent of the injury, but one doctor seems to have an idea as to what it could be; and it's either bad or very, very, very bad.

Dr. Harjas Grewal, a medical professional who examines different NHL injuries and gives fans and media a potential prognosis looks at two potential options being a broken collarbone or separated shoulder.

His analysis of Tanev being able to actively move his arm signals that he still has his collarbone intact; a massive positive meaning it cuts down his time away by a significant margin.

Either way, it's not good that the Maple Leafs are going to be without their defensive anchor and it'll be up Jake McCabe to be the team's shutdown defender in his absence; and the rest of the team needs to pick up the slack big time.

So what is the game plan going forward for the Maple Leafs?

They aren't names that spark a lot of excitement, but Philippe Myers and Conor Timmins are the two most likely candidates to replace Tanev for the time being.

Both are more offensive-minded defenders although Myers is better at protecting the net than Timmins due to his length and size but don't give the same level of elite defending that Tanev brings.

This season, Tanev has two goals and 15 assists in 57 games with a plus-26 rating, and 152 blocks in 19:48 TOI.

The team could also look to bring up a potential player from the AHL like Marshall Rifai or Matt Benning to either give a long-term prospect a chance to see what he offers, or an NHL veteran who can handle the workload.

Toronto might also need to go the trade route in order to get things done, though that will more than likely come at a premium unless they go after a name like Carson Soucy or David Savard.

We'll know more about Tanev's status after the Maple Leafs' practice on Wednesday afternoon, but one thing is certain: This is not good news for Toronto no matter which way you spin it.