'He's Close, I'd Say': Maple Leafs' Chris Tanev Is Progressing, But Return To Lineup Still Unknown

Tanev has been out of the lineup since Feb. 25 with an upper-body injury suffered against the Bruins.

By the sounds of it, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev will likely miss his seventh-consecutive game on Thursday when the team faces the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers at home.

Tanev, arguably Toronto's most important defenseman this season, suffered an upper-body injury in the opening minutes against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25. He totalled 29 seconds of ice time before taking an awkward hit from Bruins' forward John Beecher.

After arriving home from a lengthy road trip, Toronto practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday, with Tanev as the extra defenseman during the skate. "Feeling good,"  Tanev said after practice. "Just progressing day-by-day on sort of the timeline that was given to us."

The 35-year-old defenseman has scored two goals and 15 assists while averaging 19:48 in ice time across 57 games this season with Toronto. Currently, Tanev is being labeled as day-to-day, though there's been improvement on recovery.

"We're just trying to check the boxes and when that's there, then hopefully I'll be playing," Tanev said.

However, regarding a return to the lineup, the Maple Leafs aren't certain when that might be for Tanev.

"I don't know," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said when asked how close the veteran defenseman is to returning to the lineup.

"Same as he was yesterday. I mean, he's close, I'd say. He's getting better. He's improving every day. We'll just have to see. I don't really have a timeline yet."

Berube then spoke about Tanev's importance to the team this season, comparing him to Chris Pronger, whom he coached while in the Philadelphia Flyers organization: "I always use the analogy, like, when I had Chris Pronger, how much he could control a game. And he controlled it in a different way than Tanev. But Tanny controls a lot of the game for us."

Tanev has a 51.99 xGF% at five-on-five this season, the best among Maple Leafs defensemen, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. He also leads the team in blocks with 151, 39 more than the second spot on the team, which belongs to Jake McCabe.

The Toronto-born defenseman was acquired from the Dallas Stars in the offseason before signing a six-year, $27 million contract with the Maple Leafs on July 1.

When a player isn't in the lineup during practice a day before the game, it usually means they'll miss it. However, with Tanev saying they need to meet a timeline, could he play against the Panthers on Thursday?

"Yeah, I mean, it's, I don't know," Berube said. "It's day-to-day here and we'll make a decision tomorrow when he comes in and see how he feels."

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