Chris Tanev hits IR, Maple Leafs lean on Ekman-Larsson

Tuesday's morning skate against Utah ended with Jim Hiller pulling his veteran defenseman aside for a word.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

Jim Hiller called Oliver Ekman-Larsson over for chat at end of skate Coach says Leafs will “lean on him big time” with Chris Tanev out @TSN_Sports t.co/1wDuAoL0WQ

That's a big ask of a guy whose minutes have been shrinking. Ekman-Larsson is averaging 16:20 a night this season, down from 20:36 last year, and now he gets thrown back into the deep end. Darren Raddysh, who already leads the team at 23:10 per game, takes on the heavier matchup minutes too. Raddysh says he's up for it and thinks he did some of that last year. Hiller is in his first season after replacing Craig Berube in June, and this is the first real test of his blue line.

Here's how it happened. Tanev took 5 shifts in Saturday's game against the Avalanche, was on the ice for 3:29 at minus-1, and never came back. Toronto called it an upper-body injury, put him on IR retroactive to October 10 so he misses at least 3 games, and called up Marshall Rifai from the Marlies. Hiller didn't give a timeline, and that silence is the scary part.

The history makes it worse. Tanev played 11 games last season around a concussion, spine and groin injuries, and he had 1 assist in 6 games this year before he got hurt. On Jason Gregor's show on Sports1440, McCarthy pointed out how ordinary the hit was and asked the question nobody in Toronto wants to say out loud.

Jason Gregor

@JasonGregor

"Dramatically alarming. First and foremost for Tanev, but second for the Maple Leafs. The hit that put him out of the game, is a hit that happens 15-20 times a game. What he went through last year with spinal issues and core injuries, I do wonder how much more he can play and where is body is at," McCarthy on Tanev. @Sports1440

That's the crux. A defenseman whose body breaks down on a hit that happens 15-20 times a game isn't a guy you can pencil in for April. The quiet, shot-blocking, hard-matchup stuff Tanev does is exactly what's tough to replace from inside the room, and McCarthy didn't sugarcoat what Toronto has left behind him.

Jason Gregor

@JasonGregor

"If Tanev is out long term and the Maple Leafs want to contend, they have to go out and get another D-man. They won't contend with this D corps," McCarthy. @sports1440

So the Leafs have to figure out 2 things. First, whether Ekman-Larsson and Raddysh can hold up in the hard minutes over the stretch Tanev is guaranteed to miss. Second, and bigger, whether this is a 3-game problem or a full-season one. If it's the second, a Leafs team that's supposed to contend probably has to go buy a defenseman, and it's a long way to the deadline to get by with a by-committee blue line.