<p>Brandon Tanev couldn&#8217;t help but smile when asked about his older brother Chris signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.</p>
<p>The younger Tanev, a depth forward with the Seattle Kraken, was taking part in the Zach Hyman Celebrity Classic charity golf tournament on Monday and <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/tanev-family-extremely-ecstatic-to-see-chris-land-with-hometown-~2933043">hopped in front of several members of the media</a>.</p>
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<p>&#8220;With Chris being back home now, it&#8217;s very exciting for my family and him, so it&#8217;s great to see him put on a Leafs&#8217; jersey being a hometown boy,&#8221; Brandon Tanev said via TSN&#8217;s Mark Masters.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exciting, it&#8217;s one of those things where you, as a kid growing up in Toronto, everyone dreams about it and now his has come to reality. So, he&#8217;s a great add for them and our family is extremely excited for him.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s an additional spotlight that comes with playing in one of hockey&#8217;s largest media markets, where the Maple Leafs are often viewed as a religion more than a hockey team. Brandon doesn&#8217;t think Chris will be fazed by the extra attention.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, it&#8217;s gonna be, I&#8217;m sure difficult at times, but at the same time, he&#8217;s a professional, he takes care of himself, and he understands what it&#8217;s going to be like playing in front of his home town. So, he&#8217;s very excited for this amazing opportunity and I&#8217;m sure he&#8217;s looking forward to the season starting.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brandon recounted how he found about Chris joining the Maple Leafs and seemed thrilled that his older brother is returning home. It&#8217;s an <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/chris-tanev-potential-maple-leafs-homecoming-hero-story">atypical hometown hero story</a> for Chris Tanev, as he excelled in Toronto&#8217;s high school circuit before joining the Vancouver Canucks as an undrafted college standout.</p>
<p>&#8220;So, we chatted about it and you know, I&#8217;ve been through it before, it&#8217;s a busy time obviously, and you want to give your brother space to let him go through things. So you know, when he told me that he was going to be signing in Toronto I was so happy for him.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brandon also mentioned the household was always competitive growing up and he always wanted to beat his older brother at everything, which doesn&#8217;t change at the NHL level. He&#8217;ll get a chance to beat his brother&#8217;s new team as the Maple Leafs welcome the Kraken Toronto on October 31, which should be a conflicting game for the Tanev family to experience.</p>
<p>Chris Tanev signed a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-chris-tanev-to-6-year-contract-worth-4-5m-aav">six-year contract with the Maple Leafs</a> on July 1, carrying a $4.5 million average annual value after spending last season split between the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars. He projects to jump right into the Maple Leafs&#8217; top pair and <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/evaluating-chris-tanevs-potential-defence-partners-with-maple-leafs">will likely start the season</a> alongside Morgan Rielly on the Maple Leafs&#8217; blue line.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Brandon, 32, is entering the final season of his contract with the Kraken, where he&#8217;s set to earn $3.5 million against the cap. Should Seattle fall out of playoff contention leading up to the 2024-25 trade deadline, could we see a Tanev family reunion in Toronto? Considering Brandon&#8217;s playing style and the Maple Leafs searching for a new identity under head coach Craig Berube, you never know what the future holds.</p>
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Brandon Tanev couldn't help but smile when asked about his older brother Chris signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The younger Tanev, a depth forward with the Seattle Kraken, was taking part in the Zach Hyman Celebrity Classic charity golf tournament on Monday and <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/tanev-family-extremely-ecstatic-to-see-chris-land-with-hometown-~2933043">hopped in front of several members of the media</a>.
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"With Chris being back home now, it's very exciting for my family and him, so it's great to see him put on a Leafs' jersey being a hometown boy," Brandon Tanev said via TSN's Mark Masters.

"It's exciting, it's one of those things where you, as a kid growing up in Toronto, everyone dreams about it and now his has come to reality. So, he's a great add for them and our family is extremely excited for him.

There's an additional spotlight that comes with playing in one of hockey's largest media markets, where the Maple Leafs are often viewed as a religion more than a hockey team. Brandon doesn't think Chris will be fazed by the extra attention.

"Yeah, it's gonna be, I'm sure difficult at times, but at the same time, he's a professional, he takes care of himself, and he understands what it's going to be like playing in front of his home town. So, he's very excited for this amazing opportunity and I'm sure he's looking forward to the season starting."

Brandon recounted how he found about Chris joining the Maple Leafs and seemed thrilled that his older brother is returning home. It's an <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/chris-tanev-potential-maple-leafs-homecoming-hero-story">atypical hometown hero story</a> for Chris Tanev, as he excelled in Toronto's high school circuit before joining the Vancouver Canucks as an undrafted college standout.

"So, we chatted about it and you know, I've been through it before, it's a busy time obviously, and you want to give your brother space to let him go through things. So you know, when he told me that he was going to be signing in Toronto I was so happy for him."

Brandon also mentioned the household was always competitive growing up and he always wanted to beat his older brother at everything, which doesn't change at the NHL level. He'll get a chance to beat his brother's new team as the Maple Leafs welcome the Kraken Toronto on October 31, which should be a conflicting game for the Tanev family to experience.

Chris Tanev signed a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-chris-tanev-to-6-year-contract-worth-4-5m-aav">six-year contract with the Maple Leafs</a> on July 1, carrying a $4.5 million average annual value after spending last season split between the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars. He projects to jump right into the Maple Leafs' top pair and <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/evaluating-chris-tanevs-potential-defence-partners-with-maple-leafs">will likely start the season</a> alongside Morgan Rielly on the Maple Leafs' blue line.

Meanwhile, Brandon, 32, is entering the final season of his contract with the Kraken, where he's set to earn $3.5 million against the cap. Should Seattle fall out of playoff contention leading up to the 2024-25 trade deadline, could we see a Tanev family reunion in Toronto? Considering Brandon's playing style and the Maple Leafs searching for a new identity under head coach Craig Berube, you never know what the future holds.

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Brandon Tanev is extremely excited about his brother’s Maple Leafs homecoming

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