Tanev, Joshua set to boost Maple Leafs in Vancouver

VANCOUVER — Chris Tanev stepped off the University of British Columbia ice after an intense hour-plus-long practice and announced his planned return to Toronto Maple Leafs action.

“Ready to rumble tomorrow, hopefully,” said Tanev, who needs one last thumbs-up from the medical staff before facing the Canucks, his original NHL team, three Saturdays after going down to injury in Colorado.

“I’m so excited to be on the ice here. 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 very fun. It's a great practice for us.

Learned a lot. And just good energy and excitement with the group.”

After giving up 10 goals in consecutive regulation losses on this road trip, the healthy return of defensive stalwart Tanev — and power-checking forward Dakota Joshua — has contributed to the club’s excitement.

Tanev says he “didn’t feel great” when Artturi Lehkonen bumped him, innocuously, from behind, but that he followed the recommended treatment and is feeling strong.

He declined to get into the specifics of his suspected neck-area injury. Considering Tanev’s storied injury history and ability to appear in just 11 games last season, observers could be forgiven for holding their breath the next time he gets hit from an awkward angle.

Is Tanev worried he could aggravate this unspecified injury?

“There’s always concern when playing hockey. It's a physical sport, and things happen.

But talked to a lot of doctors, and we’re sort of confident in the diagnosis we got. It's different than what happened last year, so that's sort of all I'll say.

It's a lot better than what happened last year,” he said.

Is this injury related to last year’s at all?

“I’m not going to get into specifics,” Tanev replied.

Because coach Jim Hiller likes the way Jake McCabe and Darren Raddysh are performing as a pair, Tanev will slide to the right of Morgan Rielly. That pairing also keeps Tanev from jumping immediately into the heaviest shutdown minutes.

“It’s obviously a huge boost to our team. Tanny is kind of one of those irreplaceable players, with what he brings to our team on every given night,” Troy Stecher said.

“So, I know all the boys are pretty excited to have him back. He’s a huge piece of our team.”

Delayed even longer by injury is third-line winger Dakota Joshua, another healthy ex-Canuck set to return in Vancouver.

Joshua suffered a core injury toward the end of the 2025-26 season and spent long hours rehabbing over the summer with Tanev, who was working his way back from core muscle surgery.

“It’s awesome,” Tanev said of his teammate’s delayed season debut. “He was beside me a lot of the time and worked extremely hard.

Obviously, this is 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.”

Joshua and Tanev leaned on each other and shared the frustration of prolonged rehab as they pushed their way to strength. Joshua showed up at camp, but his nagging core injury failed to progress as originally planned.

He was stuck on injured reserve until this week.

“An unfortunate situation to be in, but not a better guy out there to be with,” Joshua said, after leading the team stretch at UBC. “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.”

Joshua completed a four-game conditioning stint with the AHL Marlies and was eyeing a potential return Wednesday in Seattle, but his equipment got temporarily lost in transit.

Fitting, then, that his first NHL game in nearly seven months is also his first against the team that traded him to Toronto.

“Nice to be back here for this first one. I missed them last year, so haven't had that chance yet,” Joshua said.

“It’s just funny how it worked out to be that way. There were some good years here, great memories, and just to be back here is cool.”

Hiller is urging Joshua to use his formidable six-foot-three, 203-pound frame as he tries catching up to a league already 15 games old.

“It's corner work, it's wall work, it's in front of the net. All those are areas that we've maybe struggled at times.

So, he can really fill a void for us there,” Hiller said. “Hasn't played in a long time, but we expect them to be ready to roll and have a good game for us.”

One-Timers: How’s this for poetry? Jacob Quillan, traded to Vancouver by the Leafs two weeks ago, expects to make his Canucks debut against the team that didn’t want him.

Centre Filip Chytil was placed on injured reserve…. Anthony Stolarz gets the nod in net for Toronto, which Hiller says was a planned start….

Six ex-Canucks will be wearing Maple Leafs crests for this one. “Guys have a lot of pride.

They always want to show well, but you really want to show well in front of your ex-fans because they treated you so well and cheered you on,” Hiller said…. Bo Groulx is having a rough time earning Hiller’s trust and projects to get scratched.

Call-up Vinni Lettieri has essentially snatched a role until the Leafs return to forward health.

Maple Leafs projected lineup Saturday in Vancouver:

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