After acquiring his signing rights in the last few days, the Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing to lock up Chris Tanev, but the number to do so will be huge.
For quite some time, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had their eyes on defenseman Chris Tanev, and after missing out on him at the 2024 NHL trade deadline, they've not got their opportunity. Over the weekend, the team traded for the signings rights to the veteran defenseman, with his former GM Brad Treliving closing in on a deal to bring a major boost to their blue line.
Unfortunately for Treliving and the Maple Leafs, the deal may be much richer than initially anticipated, with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman recently predicting the contract that Tanev could demand in Toronto.
[32 Thoughts] Friedman: My guess on Chris Tanev and Toronto is six years at around $4M per season.
$4 million annually for a defenseman and a leader the caliber of Tanev certainly isn't astronomical, but given that he's going on 35-years of age, a six-year deal isn't exactly ideal. Still, with Stanley Cup hopes in Toronto, the team will need to pay to bring in premium assets, so expect any deal for Tanev to look very, very rich for the veteran defenseman.
