See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source Chris Tanev is set to return to the blue line of the Maple Leafs. And not a moment too soon, as the Leafs look to salvage two points on a western trip that has gone off the rails since a shellacking of Mike Babcock’s Edmonton Oilers last Saturday.
Out of the lineup for the past nine games after he suffered an upper-body injury on Oct. 10 against the Colorado Avalanche, Tanev told media in Vancouver after practice on Friday that “all signs are pointing” to him being in the lineup on Saturday against the Canucks.
“Feel good, ready to rumble, hopefully,” Tanev said. “Not going to get into specifics (regarding the injury).
Something happened in Colorado that didn’t feel great, but I’m over that now and hopefully as I get playing here it goes well.” Indeed. When Tanev has not been in uniform, the Leafs aren’t good defensively, as his knowledge and poise aren’t easily replaced.
Scoring has not been an issue for Toronto. Generally, there has been balance, though captain Auston Matthews (fourth in National Hockey League scoring before games on Friday) and William Nylander (10th) have led the way.
The Leafs were fifth with 33 goals at five-on-five, but on the other side of the five-on-five coin, they have given up 38 goals. Only the Canucks, who stumble into Saturday with a 1-10-1 record in their past 12 games after winning two of their first three matches of 2026-27, have allowed more goals at five-on-five with 44.
Tanev, for as long as he can stay healthy, should be a source of steadiness. At practice, he was partnered with Morgan Rielly, while Troy Stecher, who had been with Rielly, moved down a pairing and was with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“It’s a huge boost,” Stecher said. “Tanny is one of those irreplaceable players, with what he brings to our team on (any) given night.
The boys are pretty excited to have him back.” Tanev did say that his injury was different than the core muscle issue he had last season, which was a major factor in limiting him to 11 games. “There is always concern when playing hockey,” Tanev said of the possibility of aggravating his latest injury.
“It’s a physical sport and things happen. It’s a lot better than what happened last year.” After winning four in a row, the Leafs played poorly in losses to Calgary and Seattle.
The return of Tanev is great timing. What about the decision to start Anthony Stolarz in net?
No surprise that Anthony Stolarz gets the call in goal, though Leafs coach Jim Hiller said it was a scheduled start for the 32-year-old. Really, though, there was no choice, not with the way Sergei Bobrovsky faltered big-time in a 5-4 loss against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
We’ll see where the Leafs go in net once they start a six-game home stand against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday — and we know the sports science staff will have an influence — but giving Stolarz another go versus Utah wouldn’t be a bad idea. As we wrote on Thursday, handing Stolarz the ball in the wake of Bobrovsky’s inconsistent play should be the way to go for the time being.
Stolarz is 4-1-0 in five games with a .907 save percentage. The Canucks are one of a few teams, along with Dallas and Colorado, that Stolarz has not beaten in his NHL career, going 0-1-0 in two appearances.
Is there another reinforcement for the Leafs? There is, as winger Dakota Joshua is keen to make his regular-season debut after recovering from a lingering core muscle injury.
Joshua practised on the third line on Friday with centre Colton Sissons and Vinni Lettieri. It will mark Joshua’s first game in Vancouver since the Leafs acquired him in a trade with the Canucks in July 2025.
The 30-year-old recently completed a conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies. “It’s never fun when you have to sit on the sideline and watch, but definitely nice to be back around the guys and get back to it,” Joshua said.
“You put in a lot of hard work, a lot of hours by yourself trying to get ready and not having it come together is tough, but it’s part of the game and makes when you get back that much more special. “It’s nice to be back here for the first one.
Missed them last year, so haven’t had that chance yet.” Said Hiller: “First thing I notice is how big (6-foot-3, 218 pounds) he is. We all like that.
It’s corner work, it’s wall work, it’s in front of the net. All those are areas we’ve maybe struggled at times.
He can really fill a void for us there. We expect him to be ready to roll and have a good game for us.” The Canucks, meanwhile, recalled former Leafs prospect Jacob Quillan on Friday afternoon from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League.
Since going west in the trade that sent Aatu Raty to the Leafs on Oct. 15, the 24-year-old Quillan has five goals and two assists in five games with Abbotsford.
tkoshan@postmedia.com X: @koshtorontosun Why the Maple Leafs' clear choice in net should be Anthony Stolarz How Artur Akhtyamov is trying to find groove with Marlies
