Chris Tanev won't return to tonight's game in Colorado with an upper-body injury, a fresh headache for the Maple Leafs' blue line.
Elliotte Friedman relayed the update, citing Sportsnet.
There's no word yet on how serious it is or how long he could be out.
The veteran came into tonight with an assist and a +2 rating.
He carries a $4,500,000 cap hit and has been one of the steadier pieces on the back end.
This is the risk of building a blue line this old. Tanev is 36, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is 35, and somebody is always going to be banged up.
It's like a house losing a load-bearing wall in the middle of a dinner party. Everybody keeps eating, but nobody's comfortable.
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Jake McCabe loses his partner as the Leafs' blue line thins out
McCabe has been skating alongside Tanev, and now he'll need a new partner on short notice.
He hasn't registered a point yet either, so offense was never the selling point of that pairing.
Ekman-Larsson is already listed day-to-day, which makes the timing even worse.
Morgan Rielly, Darren Raddysh and Troy Stecher are the other regulars back there, and Raddysh sits at -3 on an $8,500,000 cap hit.
The Leafs are also without John Tavares, who is out until at least Oct 13 after welcoming his fourth child.
So who steps in if Tanev can't go Tuesday in Utah?
Tonight's opponent doesn't make it any easier. Colorado came in scoring 5.8 goals a game, with Nathan MacKinnon already at 8 points.
Cale Makar adds 6 points from the back end, a reminder of what Toronto is up against.
Jim Hiller will likely have to finish the night with five defensemen against one of the league's most dangerous offenses.
Toronto came into tonight at 2-2-1, still stinging from coughing up a 3-0 lead in Vegas.
After Utah, the Leafs come home to face Buffalo on Thursday.
Upper body can mean a lot of things. With this blue line, Toronto badly needs it to mean something short.
Do the Maple Leafs need to trade for a defenseman after Chris Tanev's injury?
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