'The head of the snake': How Chris Tanev personifies the Leafs' new-attitude defense

TORONTO -- If Chris Tanev earned a nickname this season, it might be "vintage."

The 35-year-old defenseman is turning back the clock on Toronto's blue line, with a showcase of physical sacrifice in the name of team success. The results are not only some of his best ever, but it's helped elevate the Leafs where they need it most. That's a tall order from one player -- unless you're Tanev, the emerging crown jewel in Toronto's defense who is even captivating the competition.

"He's kind of like the head of the snake back there on their back end," said Matthew Tkachuk, who spent two seasons as Tanev's teammate in Calgary. "I've always said how great a player he's been for years. But to see him at this stage, and continuing to do it year after year, it's incredible. You can tell just by the way he conducts himself and talks to [his] team and blocks shots and leads by example ... I've seen it. It's no surprise to see what he's doing now."

Tanev's tenacity might be no great shock, but even Tkachuk couldn't have predicted how Tanev has helped turn the Leafs into a two-headed monster -- one not only capable of scoring many goals, but setting a solid defensive tone, too.

To put it charitably, goal suppression hasn't been Toronto's forte over the last decade.

It's on full display now throughout the Leafs' postseason run, and Tanev has turned his own play up a notch further in Toronto's second-round series against the Florida Panthers.

According to Stathletes, Tanev has absorbed more hits (81) in the playoffs than any skater, and he's second in blocked shots (25). He's also the Leafs' postseason leader in plus-minus (+5) and was tops in that category during the regular season too (+31) when he and Jake McCabe produced a plus-11 goal differential at 5-on-5.

If all those bodily beatings have taken a toll on Tanev, you'd never know it from the smile -- revealing a gap from some teeth dislodged along the way -- etched permanently on his face.

"Every day is a great day," he said, when asked how he's feeling. "You wake up and you're happy and you come to the rink."

That sunny disposition is another Tanev hallmark, one that works in tandem with his ferocious on-ice attitude. There's a complexity to the veteran's character -- he's known to be unassuming, a silent observer who's quietly funny. Tanev doesn't court the spotlight, but it's found him in these playoffs where a commanding individual performance has propelled Toronto during its most promising playoff run in years. Attention was bound to follow.

"He's a guy who goes out and gives it his all every single game," Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. "It's something you really love to have on your team. He puts his body on the line every single shift as well. I think that's why we're having so much success is because of him."

WHEN IT COMES to playoff hockey, you've got to "play each night like you're willing to die on that ice," according to veteran Leafs forward Max Pacioretty.

That's Tanev's style year-round. And the Leafs have needed a player like him on defense for too long.

Toronto general manager Brad Treliving knew Tanev could be a difference-maker from his time as the Flames' GM during Tanev's four-year tenure with the team. He anchored Calgary's back end right up until Treliving's successor in Calgary, Craig Conroy, traded him to Dallas in February 2024 as the Flames' entered a rebuilding phase.

Tanev was a pending unrestricted free agent at the time, and a coveted right-shot defender like him wouldn't last long on the free-agent market. Treliving wanted early access to Tanev's potential services, and acquired his rights from the Stars last June in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick and prospect Max Ellis. The move gave Toronto an exclusive window to negotiate with Tanev towards a long-term deal, and by July 1 they had come together on a six-year, $27 million contract.

The Toronto native was officially coming home. And Tanev's reputation as a grinder preceded him right into the Leafs' room. He was then fresh off Dallas' run to a Western Conference finals appearance, a stretch where Tanev led the playoff field in blocked shots (73 in 19 games) after finishing fourth in that category during the regular season (207).

Craig Berube was also new to the Leafs, coming on board for his first season as head coach, and Berube's north-south playstyle fit in perfectly with Tanev's take-no-prisoners perspective.

"He's an old school type of guy," Berube said. "He's a warrior. He's a competitive person. He's right up there with all the ones that have been around, laying his body on the line every night, whether it's a block, or taking a hit to make a play. You name it. He's going to lay it on the line."

That's been painfully clear in the Leafs' series against Florida. Tanev has taken a beating from the Panthers in stride, even when it's hurt. There was the hit from behind by Brad Marchand in Game 4; Tanev simply popped back up like a kernel -- just like he did following a crushing hit in Game 2 (although Tanev was a bit slower off the ice on that one). He was also crushed by Panthers' forward Carter Verhaeghe in the first period of Friday's Game 3 -- but not before he got the puck to McCabe.

It was only moments later that John Tavares scored to extend the Leafs' lead in that one. Consider Tanev with a third assist there, from executing the sort of game-changing move that can give the opposition fits.

"That's the strength of him, is that he'll hang onto the puck an awful lot to make plays," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "And he makes plays. He's probably underrated in some of his puck movement. He's been doing that forever. He blocks shots, takes hits; keeps playing."

Others may wince in the wake of Tanev's fearlessness. The thought process is just second nature now though.

"Sometimes you're trying to draw guys in and sort of absorb a hit before you move [the puck]," he said. "Probably there are some times where I can move it a little quicker, but that's just playoff hockey and that's what happens."

Tanev isn't one to bellyache either, whether he's feeling the burn or not. It's an inspiring commitment that's rubbed off on Tanev's teammates: If he's willing to put his weight into every shift, then the group's collective defensive effort has to be there, too.

"You see some plays and you think after the game he's going to be complaining about it, and you don't hear a word from him about it," Pacioretty said. "He just goes about his business. And that was throughout the entire year. You see a shot block earlier in the year, and you're like, 'oh, man, you must be hurting or limping for days' and he just comes back to the rink like nothing happened.

"So he's extremely tough, and he's willing to sacrifice everything for the team, and that doesn't go unnoticed in that room."

By just how much, exactly?

"He's up there [as toughest teammate]," defenseman Simon Benoit said. "He's got to be up there, like, top one."

TANEV HAS MANY TALENTS on the ice.

He's got a few off it, too. And, like plenty else about him, learning how Tanev spends his downtime was an eye-opener.

"I found out he's doing schoolwork on the road a lot, which I think is crazy," Marner said. "But he's dedicated to working hard, and anything he starts he wants to finish and that's something you appreciate. It's impressive."

Tanev didn't exactly plan on textbooks filling his suitcase as an NHL player. Then again, he didn't see a global pandemic coming, either. But when the league shut down in 2020, Tanev decided to make the most of it, picking up on the finance degree he started as a player at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2009.

"I went to school for a year and left and took a ten-year break," Tanev joked. "When COVID happened, my wife was like, 'why don't you start taking classes [again]?" We were just sitting at home. And I've been doing it since. So I'm almost done."

The business side of life comes "naturally" to Tanev, something he hinted at when explaining why he wanted to sign with Toronto in the first place. When asked at the time why he would want to leave a place like Texas, with its low state income tax, to be in Canada, where taxes are notably higher, Tanev had an educated answer.

"You do have the lower state tax [in Texas], but I've played in Canada for 14 years [between Vancouver and Calgary from 2010-14]," he said. "I'm from [Toronto], and my wife's family is from close to here. There's also a tax when you leave Canada to become a U.S. citizen -- there's a departure tax to leave Canada."

Avoiding that deemed depositions tax -- accrued when a Canadian permanently relocates elsewhere -- showed a glimpse into Tanev's financial savvy, and illustrated how, just like when he's patrolling the Leafs' blue line, he is constantly trying to stay in front of the competition.

"He's a stud back there," forward Matthew Knies said. "I think he's always watching. He's thinking ahead, making the play and getting the puck out of his own zone, and blocking shots. That's what it takes to win."

It's boring, almost, to watch Tanev in action. He's so rarely out of position or causing cringe-worthy turnovers that have poisoned playoff runs for Toronto in the past. There's a self-assurance to Tanev that radiates as part of his personality.

"[He's a] calming presence," Marner said. "If anyone knows him off the ice, he's one-of-a-kind, he's very calm and to himself. Every once in a while you'll hear him make a joke, which is usually pretty funny."

What is no laughing matter is how critical Tanev is to Toronto's hope of denying the Panthers another Cup Final appearance -- and attempting to make one of their own. The Leafs held a 2-0 series lead over Florida before the Panthers defended home ice with a pair of victories to pull even at 2-2. When the puck drops on Game 5 in Toronto, it's officially a best-of-three, though the Leafs still have home-ice advantage to work with there.

To finish the job, the Leafs will take everything Tanev can give -- but they can't afford to lose him in the process, either. There was a collective inhale when Tanev exited Game 3 for several shifts after a shot block; turns out, it was only a broken skate.

"Frustrating," according to Tanev, to even miss a few minutes at this time of year when his contributions are critical.

"He's done this for a long time," said Berube, on Tanev's refusal to shy away from harm. "So, I'm not going to talk to him about changing."

Toronto wouldn't dream of it. Tanev is leading by example on what it takes to truly be all-in. If the rest of Tanev's teammates follow suit, there's no telling how far Toronto can take their postseason run.

"He's as tough as they come," McCabe said of his partner. "He's so steady. He's willing to do whatever it takes to win. We're lucky to have him."