Chris Tanev
Age: 27
Current Team: Vancouver Cancucks
Contract: $4.45 Million for three more seasons.
Abilities: Excellent defensive defenseman who can move the puck.
Why he might be available: The Canucks are rebuilding. If the Leafs can send them an asset or two and take a contract off their hands, why wouldn’t they trade a player whose prime will be over before they can be competitive?
Tanev is one of the NHL’s best defenseman, but he doesn’t score much. Without the puck he is among the best the league. Even though he doesn’t score much, he isn’t your prototypical “defensive defenseman” in the Roman Polak model. He’s more of a new-age puck-moving defensive defenseman.
This excellent article about the top-20 D in the NHL ranks him tenth. He shoots right and would compliment either Rielly or Gardiner on the top-pairing.
The Leafs should make this happen.