Chris Tanev Scouting Report: What the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Expect

Chris Tanev Film Study

While Tanev's age is a massive concern with this contract, a handful of defensemen older than Tanev still significantly impact other teams. These include Brent Burns (38) and Kris Letang (36), who have a couple of years on Tanev, and John Carlson, Drew Doughty, and Ryan McDonagh, who are all the same age as Tanev.

Last year, 23 defensemen were 34 years of age or older in the NHL. While most played in-depth or third-pairing roles, Tanev was one of the few who played top-four minutes. His elite game sense allows him to have such a significant impact this late in his career. He doesn't rely heavily on his athleticism, which is encouraging for the Leafs in the future.

Here is a quick look at what makes Tanev so good this late in his career.

While most hockey fans have seen clips of Tanev diving head-first to block shots, and he has been one of the best-shot blockers in the NHL over his career, the most valuable part of Tanev's game is his positioning.

Let's talk about how he defends the rush, considering he will likely be doing a lot of that playing beside Reilly, who gets caught in the offensive zone a fair amount.

Initially, when I went looking for the Tanev film, I thought I would be in trouble because these plays rarely end up in the end-of-game highlights. Still, luckily enough, Tanev's off-rush defence is so elite that @VirtualHockeyScout on YouTube already put together this video showing clip after clip shutting attackers down on the rush.

What is most impressive about these clips is you do not see Tanev reaching or gambling on hits. Tanev makes it extremely easy on himself by taking excellent angles, taking away the attacker's space, and running them out of room.

It is not flashy. Tanev will not jump off the screen by laying massive body checks. In fact, you won't notice him all that often because of how easy he makes defending look. He is excellent at slowing the attack, allowing time for his teammates to backcheck. This is precisely what the Maple Leafs need beside Morgan Reilly.

The other thing I want to touch on with Tanev's positioning is his net-front presence. To demonstrate this, @VirtualHockeyScout has another video with a bunch of Chris Tanev's highlights from plays he made last season in front of the net.

While Tanev is a formidable physical presence, he does not get overly engaged in battles in front of the net. Instead, he keeps his stick free and in passing lanes while consistently staying in shooting lanes.

This skill is something the Maple Leafs have desperately needed. For years, this team has struggled with giving up high-danger chances after losing defenders in front of the net.

With Tanev going to be playing big minutes alongside Morgan Reilly next season, the combination of positional excellence from Tanev and Reilly.

Tanev could be the smoother of a skater or an excellent puck handler. His excellent positioning and defensive awareness will be perfect alongside Reilly, who has lacked a competent defensive partner for several years.