Toronto Maple Leafs: What’s next after Chris Tanev’s injury?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a shaky start to the 2025–26 season, sitting with a record of 7–5–1. To make matters worse, one of the team’s top defencemen, Chris Tanev, is now on the injured reserve. He was on the receiving end of a scary hit from behind by Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, which had him stretchered off the ice during the Leafs’ Saturday game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

This injury came in Tanev’s first game back with the team after he missed time due to a concussion, and with limited information given following his most recent injury, it is unknown just how long Tanev will be out for. So, with the team already struggling to gain any ground in the Atlantic, what can the Leafs do without their powerful right-handed defenceman in the lineup?

Tanev’s impact

While Tanev only has two assists–his only two points–in eight games played on the season, he was a significant piece for the team in the 2024–25 season. In 75 games played last season, Tanev put up 15 assists and 18 points in 75 games, his highest point total since his 2021–22 season in Calgary. Additionally, Tanev had a plus/minus of plus-31, the second highest of his career and a clear indicator of the positive impact that Tanev had for the Leafs last season.

Beyond his point totals and plus/minus numbers, Tanev was a true workhorse on the defensive end for the Leafs in 2024–25, blocking 189 shots, the sixth-highest total in the league according to moneypuck.com. He added another 38 in the playoffs as well, the seventh-highest total in the league, and mind you, that was all done in just two playoff rounds.

Where do the Leafs go from here?

With Tanev out of the lineup, his workload will fall on the Leafs’ other two right-handed defencemen, Brandon Carlo and Philippe Myers. Neither has had nearly as significant an impact on the team as Tanev. Carlo put up just three assists in his 20 games with the Leafs last season after the team acquired him from the Boston Bruins at the 2025 trade deadline, and with two assists in 12 games to start the 2025–26 season, Carlo is on pace to do about the same this year.

Myers’ numbers weren’t much better with three assists and five points in 36 games last season, and to start the current season, Myers has been a healthy scratch for the most part, only appearing in four games and currently sitting with zero points to his name. But with Tanev out, Myers will likely see an uptick in his games played and his minutes.

If Tanev were a left-shot defenceman, Toronto would have a wealth of depth to get them through this next bit with guys like Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson at their disposal. But unfortunately for the team, defensive load will fall squarely on the shoulders of Carlo and Myers.

While Carlo’s career numbers have been consistent with what he showed last season, the 28-year-old Myers has seen some success at the NHL level, most notably his 2019–20 season with the Flyers, where he contributed 12 assists and 16 points in 50 games, and he has had four AHL seasons where he was able to put up 21 points or more.

Too early for a trade?

While an early-season trade could be another option for the team to get a more substantial replacement for Tanev, the length of his injury absence could make or break that option. For now, Myers and Carlo will have to fill in as best they can to fill the void left by Tanev.

If all goes well and one or both of Carlo and Myers excel in their increased roles, then Tanev’s injury absence may not be the massive problem that it presents to be on paper. But if the two play as they have been or worse, it may be a rough next bit of hockey for a Leafs team that is already behind where they had hoped they would be to start the 2025–26 NHL season.