Maple Leafs coach says forwards must help defence with Tanev out week-to-week

TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Thursday.

"Tanev's a good player; that's well established, but we have other good players," said head coach Jim Hiller after morning skate. "We just have to help them out a little bit."

Tanev was initially placed on injured reserve Monday, with the move retroactive to Saturday. The 36-year-old was hurt in the Maple Leafs' 6-3 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, skating in five shifts in the first period before leaving the game.

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Hiller said he was comfortable with the remaining defencemen on his active roster but stressed the forwards need to contribute more defensively.

"What I was disappointed about a little bit on the trip is I thought we hung our defencemen out to dry just a little bit as a group of forwards with some turnovers, with some tracking," Hiller said. "You've got to help your defence. I don't care who's in. That, to me, is a little bit more on our forwards."

The oft-injured Tanev was limited to 11 games last season due to spine and groin injuries as well as a concussion. He has one assist in six games this season and is tied for the team lead with 14 blocked shots.

Potential future upgrades

TSN's Chris Johnston reported that Toronto will find solutions internally for now, but the team will consider defence upgrades in the future.

The Maple Leafs don't have many valuable assets left in the system that could bring back a hefty package, but they have some mid-tier prospects and multiple future draft picks, including a conditional first-rounder for 2027 from Colorado and their own 2029 first-round pick.

Therefore, Toronto won't be blowing anyone out of the water with a top-pairing defenseman, but a bottom-four defenseman capable of a second-pairing role is certainly possible.

Potential trade targets mentioned include veterans like Brenden Dillon of the New Jersey Devils, Nick Perbix of the Nashville Predators, Carson Soucy of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers.

When asked if the Maple Leafs are looking to add a defenceman with Tanev out, Hiller deferred. "Not my job, first of all," he said. "I think there's always a lot of noise about something, so I'm not going to pay too much attention to it right now."

The update on Tanev came as the Maple Leafs prepared to host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Both teams entered the game with identical 3-3-1 records. Garbutt Disposal reported on Saturday's win in Colorado where William Nylander tied a career high with five points.

With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and Yahoo Sports