Maple Leafs' Update on Chris Tanev Not Enough to Satiate Fans

A late scratch due to a lower-body injury forced the Leafs to take on the Winnipeg Jets without defenseman Chris Tanev on Monday.

It was pretty clear in the loss that the Leafs really missed Tanev, and that he is a very important player for the Leafs on the blueline -- perhaps even more so than originally thought.

Following the loss, Craig Berube was asked about the status of Tanev, but in keeping with the Leafs' vague injury updates, all Berube said was that the injury occurred on Saturday against the New York Islanders and that it was lower-body in nature.

Berube's update has frustrated fans even more given the current absence of captain Auston Matthews for the second straight game after re-aggravating his unknown upper-body injury Friday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Tanev signed a six-year deal with the Leafs on July 1st and was expected to provide Morgan Rielly with the type of partner he has needed throughout his career.

So far this season, however, Tanev has spent most of his time playing with Jake McCabe as the Leafs' shutdown pairing while Rielly cycles through the likes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Timmins, Philippe Myers and anyone else Berube decides might work next to the longest tenured Leaf.

The 35-year-old is as tough as they come, consistently willing to put his body in harm's way to block shots as evidenced by the 99 shots he has blocked through 34 games in his first season with the Leafs.

While fans are not pleased with another minimalistic injury update, the hope is that the extended time off over the Christmas break will get Tanev back into the lineup when the Leafs return to the ice on the 27th of December.