Chris Tanev's injury is causing a lot of issues for the Maple Leafs, but new information shows that perhaps this delay is how Toronto's going to react to future ones.
When the Maple Leafs lost Chris Tanev to injury it sent a collective groan around Leafs Nation as the fanbase was once again faced with the fact that one of their defensive anchors had gone down yet again.
After last season's 11-game appearance, Tanev was expected to spend a lot more time on the ice this year but after only six games - he's on the shelf. He's missing at least a week and the Maple Leafs seemed to take their sweet time in getting the information out to the public.
Toronto's new philosophy is why Chris Tanev's injury isn't as serious as it looks
However it's all by design, at least according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
Johnston explained that the situation involving Tanev isn't as serious as it looks as the Maple Leafs aren't really panicking and the delay in information was the team doing their due diligence - and taking time to get the answers before jumping to conclusions:
I don't sense that it's super sensitive in terms of where Tanev's at. The Leafs are working through due diligence, doing some further testing on him, and I think this is going to be more of a standard for them when players get injured under this new performance staff.
It's not known exactly what that time frame looks like, but I don't know that it's one where you have to jump to conclusions and assume it's going to be a repeat of last season.
With the additions of the new performance staff and an onus on player recovery, Tanev's going to have the right personnel surrounding him so that he can't on the ice much faster than he would have otherwise.
Toronto's patience with its players will pay off in the long-run
But knowing that this could be the standard for the team going forward should help temper the expectations of the fans. We all want to know what's going on, but actually knowing what's wrong takes time and if we can learn to be a bit more patient - then we won't be so taken aback when news breaks.
Often times it felt like the team was not transparent enough, and while some fans will argue that they still aren't being as open as they could be, it's at least for a good reason.
You'd rather get more information and a second opinion than rush into a decision, and we've seen Toronto either force people back in who aren't 100%, or sit players who are 100% because they don't have all the correct information.
Being patient now and getting the right diagnosis and preparing a recovery program based on that is the best way to get Tanev and future potential injured players back sooner. If they can pinpoint the area that needs strengthening - it sets them up better down the road.
It's why Tanev's absence is certainly scary, but nothing to be completely fearful of. They're taking their time with him in 2026-27, so they don't run into a repeat of what happened only a year ago.
Do you think Toronto's approach to injuries like Chris Tanev's is a good or bad thing?
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