This past Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs gave the recently returning Chris Tanev a night off for the game against the New Jersey Devils despite being good enough to play. Apparently, the Maple Leafs were implementing load management for Tanev following his return from injury that he sustained earlier this season. The Leafs would end up losing 4-0 to the Devils, making some wonder had he played, would the game have been a lot closer to give the Buds a chance at winning.
With that result, it brings about the question, is Toronto using load management with their top defensive defenseman absolutely necessary at this critical juncture in the Leafs schedule? For one, Tanev himself revealed how he felt about the move, as per the Toronto Sun.
“I don’t agree with it, but I understand where he’s (Leafs GM John Chayka) coming from. I haven’t really been healthy for the last year, so I think he wants me to be able to play in January and February and March,” Tanev said. “I guess being available during that stretch will benefit the team and I do think John wants what’s best for me too as well.”
But in terms of what Tanev really wants if he had the choice? “I want to play” was his response.
To further the situation, the Leafs even had Tanev uncharacteristically on the third pairing with Dakota Mermis in their recent practice. Whether that has to do with load management as well, limiting his playing minutes on a lesser role, or whether it was more for juggling the pairings due to their ineffectiveness remains to be seen.
Is the load management of Chris Tanev by the Maple Leafs really necessary at this critical juncture?
Nevertheless, from the current standpoint of the Maple Leafs, not having Tanev in their everyday lineup or limiting his time on the ice when he does play during a time in which the team is spiralling down the standings could be detrimental. Toronto has already had some trouble scoring in recent games, so without their top defender playing big minutes, it will be difficult for them to limit opponents from piling up the goals at the same time. In fact, the Leafs have been outscored 17-7 in their current four-game losing streak with more of the league’s best on tap in their next two games.
However, at the same time, the health and well-being of Tanev is very important as well. As much as Leafs fans would want him in there every night, remember the injury woes that the 36-year-old veteran had gone through during the past couple of seasons, including a serious concussion that knocked him out for a fair chunk of the 2025-26 season. There is still life after hockey for Tanev and we sure don’t want to recklessly put him into game action that could potentially hamper his quality of life in the future.
On top of that, as he touched on it above, the added rest could allow him to play effectively in the meaningful games later on to help the Leafs to have a chance to make the playoffs. If Toronto can draw from any inspiration that load management usage works, just think of the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard during their championship year in 2018-19. The only difference now for the Leafs is they need to significantly pick up their game now collectively as a team, especially in Tanev’s absence, so that they can give themselves a chance to still be in contention when the games matter most later in the year. That way, the resting of Tanev would be worth it in the end.
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