'Ready To Roll': Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua To Join Maple Leafs' Lineup, Where Do They Slot In?

The Toronto Maple Leafs had two players join the lineup in Friday's practice, gearing up to visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

After missing the last nine games, defenseman Chris Tanev says he is "ready to rumble" against the Canucks, one of his former teams. 

"Honestly, I'm so excited to be on the ice here," Tanev said after practice. "So I remember being 20 years old at camp, stepping on this ice, and it sort of brings back a ton of memories. And it's been very, very fun. It was a great practice for us and learned a lot and just good energy and excitement with the group."

His last appearance came against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 10. He only played 3:29 before exiting the game with an upper-body injury. In the six games he has played, he recorded one assist and averaged 19:31 of ice time before the game in which he was forced to leave early.

Tanev had attended the last two morning skate sessions with the team, once in a red non-contact sweater, and the latter in a regular sweater and skated as one of the extra defensemen.

Left winger Dakota Joshua also practiced with the Maple Leafs on Friday and awaits his season debut with the team, potentially on Saturday. 

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun," Joshua said about getting back in the lineup. "It's never fun when you've got to sit on the sideline and watch, but no, definitely nice to be back around the guys and get back to it."

The 30-year-old had a much longer process to get ramped up for the season. He skated on his own and with several different groups in training camp as he recovered from a core injury. 

Recently, he wrapped up a four-game conditioning stint with the AHL's Toronto Marlies before being taken off LTIR on Wednesday. Now, he has officially joined the Maple Leafs lineup and is set to make his first appearance since April 8 of last season.

"Yeah, it's not fun," he said. "You know, you put in a lot of hard work, a lot of hours by yourself trying to get ready, and then just having it not come together as you'd like is tough. But, part of the game, and it makes when you get back that much more special."

"I know how hard he worked all summer, so he was beside me a lot of the time and worked extremely hard," Tanev said about Joshua's recovery. "Obviously, it's sort of a bit slower than he wanted to, but it's awesome to see him back and be with the group. I'm thrilled, the guys are happy, and I'm sure it's a big relief for him."

This will be Joshua's first game in Vancouver since being trade from there to Toronto in July 2025.

"It would be nice to come back for this one, Joshua said. "Yeah, it is nice to be back here for this first one. I missed them last year, so I haven't had that chance yet. But, yeah, no, that would be fun."

To start the season, Tanev was paired with Jake McCabe, but upon his return, he practised with Morgan Rielly. The two defensemen haven't played together in a game since 2024-25, when they played 156 minutes as a pair that season, per MoneyPuck.

"We really liked how McCabe and Raddysh have been playing together, so we don't want to break that up," Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said of the decision. "They've played together before. I think it makes a pretty easy transition for both of them."

As for Joshua, he took Bo Groulx's spot from the Seattle Kraken as the third-line left winger. He slots in next to Colton Sissons and Vinni Lettieri.

"The first thing I'll tell you I noticed, how big he is, right? We all like that" Hiller said. "You know, you put him on the skates, he's a big man. So, you know, it's corner work, it's wall work, it's in front of the net. I think all those areas are areas that we've maybe struggled at times. So, you know, he can really fill a void for us there. And he hasn't played in a long time, but we expect him to be ready to roll and have a good game for us."

In addition to signs pointing to Tanev and Joshua's return, Anthony Stolarz will be the starting goaltender for the Maple Leafs on Saturday, in what Hiller calls a scheduled start for the 32-year-old.

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