The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired the signing rights to the Dallas Stars Chris Tanev in a trade. The two parties have been linked for a long time. In exchange, the Stars receive forward Max Ellis and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
? TRADE ALERT ? pic.twitter.com/mDZIuoaX6Y
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2024
Toronto to Potentially Sign Tanev
There have been a lot of discussions around Tanev and what team he would sign for after July 1. However, with this trade, Toronto will likely be the one to ink Tanev to a new deal. The Maple Leafs are very thin in terms of right-handed defenceman as of late. Last season, they were forced to play lefties on their off-side very often. This acquisition could potentially fix a lot of problems for the Buds. According to reports, Leafs General Manager, Brad Treliving will be looking to sign Tanev to a long-term deal. Even though the defenceman is 34 years old, signing Tanev for more than five years, for example, will allow the team to lower the AAV. And as many fans know, Toronto doesn’t exactly have a ton of cap space. Therefore, with this trade, expect Tanev’s contract to be long-term.
What does Tanev Bring to the Leafs?
The veteran defenceman has played 792 career games and has a career plus-minus of plus-122. Those numbers speak for themselves. Tanev is coming off a very successful season with Stars. Dallas advanced all the way to the Western Conference finals in the playoffs. However, they were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. During that run, the Toronto native led the league in blocked shots with 73 in just 19 games. Tanev can play in all defensive situations, he can eat pucks and play a substantial amount of minutes. In the playoffs he average 22:13 for the Stars.
If Toronto sign Tanev from this trade, he will most likely fit into a top-four role. While this is a promising move by Treliving, there is still another spot available on the back-end. TSN’s Darren Dreger believes that Toronto could still be in the race for Nikita Zadorov or Oliver Ekman-Larsson in free agency.
Main photo by: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
