TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the throes of an 0-4 homestand, losing ground in the standings, and facing one of the league’s best teams Thursday.
And they are choosing not to dress one of their best defencemen available.
For the second time in three games, Chris Tanev will not dress for the Maple Leafs.
Tanev’s load management is not only restricted to back-to-backs.
“I want to play,” Tanev asserted after his first scratch, which he served Sunday in a loss to New Jersey, the day after a defeat to Montreal.
Despite multiple questions regarding the topic, which comes from GM John Chayka, head coach Jim Hiller declined to dive into specifics of when or why the decision to sit Tanev out for this game (7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+) was made.
Hiller asserted that Tanev, who skated in Thursday’s optional skate, will play Saturday versus Edmonton.
“I think he knows we have his best interests at heart. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good player. And what he’s called upon, he plays hard. So, he understands all that,” Hiller said.
Instead, the Maple Leafs — who are already without Morgan Rielly — will turn to AHL callups Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis to help shut down Kirill Kaprizov & Co.
Load management for veterans is commonplace in the NBA. Not so much in hockey, a sport brimming with athletes who take pride in playing through pain and risk.
Tanev, 36, has suffered a series of injuries to the head/neck area over the past two seasons, however, and the organization is exercising caution.
Even if Tanev respectfully disagrees with the call to keep him out.
“It’s kind of foreign in our league, right? But, I mean, when a guy’s dealing with injuries, it’s hard to as an organization. I’m sure you just want to protect your asset to some degree,” former Leaf and current Wild forward Nick Foligno said. “But as a player, I can’t imagine what that feels like — because we’re all born and bred to play, no matter what.
“Tanev, knowing him a little bit and playing against him, he’s a warrior, right? So, he’s a guy that’s going to want to play no matter how he’s feeling, and that’s a tough one because we’re not meant to sit out. I know what I felt like being injured earlier this year, and I definitely know I’m not ready to retire yet. So, it’s the hard part. But you can kind of see both sides. But as a player, yeah, I would hate it.”
Wild coach John Hynes says he has never sat a player in the name of maintenance but that every situation is unique. Nevertheless, the opposing coach says, creating offence against a team with Tanev increases the level of difficulty.
“Chris, he’s a tough, hard player to play against. Big, strong guy. He’s got good reach. He’s physical. You know, he stabilizes,” Hynes said. “Block shots. Like, he’s a just a strong two-way defenceman that is a difficult guy to play against.”
The Leafs, however, are sticking to their plan.
“We have great resources and just crack staff, up and down,” Hiller said. “So, everybody’s involved with it and debated, and then good decisions made. And then everybody moves forward.”
One-Timers: Anthony Stolarz (5-2) starts his second game in five nights. He’s looked better and gathered more wins than No. 1 Sergei Bobrovsky. “One, he stops the puck,” Hiller said. “Two, he’s really calm in the net. He’s a big guy. I don’t think he’s sliding around that much. He’s pretty compact, so I think that’s really helping. Not a lot of rebounds.”… Zack MacEwen is a game-time decision. He skipped Wednesday’s practice but did return to the ice Thursday morning. If the winger can’t play, Brendan Brisson will make his Maple Leafs debut. The AHL callup has exploded for 17 points in 14 games for the Marlies this season.
Maple Leafs projected lineup Thursday vs. Minnesota Wild:
Cowan – Matthews – Roslovic
Tverberg – Tavares – Nylander
McKenna – Paul – Joshua
Duhaime – Blueger – MacEwen
McCabe – Raddysh
Ekman-Larsson – Stecher
Mermis – McWard
Stolarz starts
Bobrovsky
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