Injuries are weighing down the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the absence of veteran defenseman Chris Tanev is proving to be most detrimental to their back end, just look at the numbers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been bitten by the injury bug multiple times already this season.
Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews, left winger Matthew Knies, goaltender Anthony Stolarz, and others have all been sidelined with significant injuries, and Toronto has missed each of them as they try to crawl out of the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
However, the injured player the Leafs may arguably miss the most is someone who is never at the top of any scoring list. We’re talking about veteran defenseman Chris Tanev.
The 35-year-old has appeared in only eight games this season, and the stats bear out how his absence has hurt Toronto’s blueprint for success.
Indeed, in two separate stretches of being hurt this year, Tanev has had a clear impact on the Maple Leafs’ chances of winning. Toronto is 5-7-2 without Tanev this year. And the Leafs have been outscored 55-45 in those 14 games, including by a combined score of 41-25 in their nine losses without Tanev.
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In addition, in their past eight games, the Tanev-less Leafs have surrendered 32 goals, and they have a 1-5-2 record. That's the second-most goals against, and the joint-most losses in the NHL during that span.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s shots-against average without Tanev is notably higher than it is with him.
In the last 14 games that Tanev has missed, the Leafs have averaged a league-worst 34.4 shots against. However, in the first seven games of the campaign, when the D-man was healthy, the team allowed 29 shots per game.
In addition, the defensemen who’ve been in the Maple Leafs lineup as replacements for Tanev have hardly been above-average.
Whether it’s Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers or Troy Stecher, the trickle-down effect on Toronto’s depth chart of defensemen is dramatic, and none of those three D-men have made the Leafs as difficult to play against as Tanev does when he’s healthy. Not to mention, Mermis and Myers are not regular NHL defensemen, playing a combined 40 NHL games last year.
Thus, without Tanev, Leafs coach Craig Berube is facing a great challenge in stemming the tide of goals against.
Whether it’s the eye test or the statistics, the loss of Tanev has had a noticeable impact on the Maple Leafs’ back end.
Tanev isn’t the be-all and end-all on ‘D’, nor is he a flawless player. He’s had some unfortunate luck on the health front, but the reality is he’s crucial to Toronto’s chances to succeed.
In fairness, the Leafs also miss Matthews and Knies in particular. When you have two out of three members of your top line on the injured list – and two players Berube implicitly trusts in all situations – you’re going to struggle mightily.
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It’s no wonder that Toronto sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They don’t have their most important forward in Matthews, and they don’t have their impactful blueliner in Tanev. Until they get them back, the Maple Leafs are going to have an uphill battle getting back in the Stanley Cup playoff race.
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