Chris Tanev breaks his silence on how he'll fit in the Maple Leafs' blue line

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Julien Trekker
July 10, 2024 (9:45)

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The defenseman Chris Tanev broke his silence on how he'll fit on the Toronto Maple Leafs' blue line in the upcoming season.

General Manager Brad Treliving's number one priority going into the offseason was to boslter his defensive unit and he did just that by signing Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev.

Both players had great impacts with the Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars in the recent NHL playoffs and could bring the same thing to Toronto.

In a recent interview, Tanev confirmed what is expected from him and what he wants to accomplish in Toronto.

Here's what he said:

"That's going to be the coach's call at the end of the day. I've done both throughout my career," Tanev explained. "I feel like I've played a couple of years ago with Quinn Hughes (with the Vancouver Canucks). I played a lot with Noah Hanifin in Calgary (with the Flames) and then playing with Esa.

"I think those are sort of three different, different styles of players. And I think we all had success together during the times we played together."

"I'm going to take a lot of D-zone face-offs against other teams' top players. I'm going to PK a lot. That's just sort of what my, my role in the league has evolved into," Tanev said.

About the opportunity to work under Treliving once again, he seemed happy and confident:

"He's an amazing man, stand-up guy and most importantly, he wants to win just as bad as I do," Tanev said of Treliving. "(It) definitely did factor in my decision for sure. I have a great relationship with Tre and I'm happy to be here and working for him again."

Chris Tanev reveals who reached out to him first in the Maple Leafs organization

After signing his contract, the veteran defenseman revealed that it's the Leafs' new head coach Craig Berube who was the first member of the organization to reach out to him following his contract signature.

In an interview, Tanev had some great words for him:

"Obviously, Coach is a winner, he's won a Cup, he's played a long time in the league, he knows the game," said Tanev. "Right when Toronto traded for me, he was the first call that I got and he wanted to express how he felt about me and where I could play in the lineup and how I could help the team.

After signing, I met him last Wednesday and sat down for a bit and got to know each other a little bit. That's a big part of being successful, just to talk and communicate and he was awesome from the short time I've known him."

We can't wait to see him on the ice for the Leafs in a few months!

Source: The Hockey News
'That's Going To Be The Coach's Call': Where Will Chris Tanev Slot in on the Maple Leafs' Defense Come Opening Night?