When Chris Tanev hit the free-agent market last summer, many throughout the hockey world felt it was a shoe-in for the defensive defenceman to sign with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, and reunite with GM Brad Treliving from their days together in Calgary. Turns out, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Tanev’s father, Mike, was recently a guest on Donnie & Dhali and opened up about the process that led his son to sign a six-year, $27-million contract with Toronto.

“When Chris went to Dallas, we had a decision to make this summer. There were three teams,” Mike Tanev shared. “There was Vancouver – obviously, huge interest from Vancouver – Toronto and Dallas. The family thing makes sense. How close was Vancouver? I don’t know. But I can tell you [Vancouver] was one of the three teams that Christopher had to choose from. Vancouver was definitely there.”

The Stars shipped out two draft picks and a prospect to land Tanev, and weren’t able to come to terms with him on an extension. GM Jim Nill went in another direction instead, signing Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin once free agency opened up.

Tanev began his career with the Canucks back in 2010-11, a process that involved nine teams having interest in signing the stay-at-home, undrafted defenceman. He’d go on to play parts of 10 seasons with the Canucks, a great run that eventually ran out of steam.

“Everything was good until the last year,” Tanev’s dad said. “Hey, they didn’t offer him a contract.” Instead, Treliving and the Flames organization did, signing Tanev to a four-year, $18 million deal.

In Toronto, Tanev has fit in perfectly. He’s been every as advertised as far as his playing style, keeping things simple, and being open to do absolutely anything on the ice to help the Leafs win. Tanev’s the proto-typical ‘team guy’ and you won’t find anyone having more fun, as he finishes off his hockey career in front of family and friends.