Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev briefly left Tuesday&#8217;s game against the New York Islanders after taking a puck to the face, but he returned in a stellar effort. It&#8217;s clear that Tanev&#8217;s teammates and coaches are in awe of the NHL&#8217;s premier shot-blocker.
Tanev leads the NHL with 106 blocked shots and has been a revelation for the Maple Leafs, forming one of the league&#8217;s premier defensive shutdown pairings alongside Jake McCabe. He blocked four shots in Tuesday&#8217;s 3-1 win against the Islanders, while getting a secondary assist on David Kampf&#8217;s opening goal.
Here is the play, and we don&#8217;t necessarily advise watching Tanev&#8217;s reaction:
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Tanev took a puck to the face <a href="https://t.co/YxwuZ8zVPq">pic.twitter.com/YxwuZ8zVPq</a>
&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1874173523025158477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;He&#8217;s old school for sure and he&#8217;s a gamer, all around,&#8221; Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Tanev post-game. &#8220;He lays it on the line. I was expecting him back sooner than later. He&#8217;s a special player with just how he thinks the game and plays the game, not a lot of those guys around anymore. We&#8217;re very fortunate to have him.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve seen a d-man block as many shots as he does,&#8221; Berube added. &#8220;Composure, he never panics with the puck. If he doesn&#8217;t have a play, he eats it. Grinds it out of the zone, or grinds it to make a play later. He never panics, his head is up. He&#8217;s a very intelligent player, I&#8217;ll tell you that. His ability is his ability, but his ability is right here (pointing to his head) and right here (pointing to his heart).&#8221;
Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has certainly appreciated Tanev&#8217;s efforts throughout the year.
&#8220;You guys see it out there. He&#8217;s very underrated, I think, even when people talk about how good he is defensively. He&#8217;s so poised with the puck, he makes great plays, and he blocks a lot of shots, he&#8217;s a goalie&#8217;s best friend back there.&#8221;
&#8220;No surprise from him. Tough guy, competitor, ultimate type of warrior, albeit impressive,&#8221; Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said of Tanev.
Tanev will be a major part of the Maple Leafs&#8217; push towards Stanley Cup contention, he&#8217;s a long-term part of the team&#8217;s window after signing a six-year contract worth $4.5 million annually on July 1, and he has perhaps defined the team&#8217;s identity change under Craig Berube more than any other play. He&#8217;s proven to be more than an elite shot blocker for the Maple Leafs, as veteran leadership takes on many forms.
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Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev briefly left Tuesday's game against the New York Islanders after taking a puck to the face, but he returned in a stellar effort. It's clear that Tanev's teammates and coaches are in awe of the NHL's premier shot-blocker.

Tanev leads the NHL with 106 blocked shots and has been a revelation for the Maple Leafs, forming one of the league's premier defensive shutdown pairings alongside Jake McCabe. He blocked four shots in Tuesday's 3-1 win against the Islanders, while getting a secondary assist on David Kampf's opening goal.

Here is the play, and we don't necessarily advise watching Tanev's reaction:

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1874173523025158477

"He's old school for sure and he's a gamer, all around," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Tanev post-game. "He lays it on the line. I was expecting him back sooner than later. He's a special player with just how he thinks the game and plays the game, not a lot of those guys around anymore. We're very fortunate to have him."

"I don't think I've seen a d-man block as many shots as he does," Berube added. "Composure, he never panics with the puck. If he doesn't have a play, he eats it. Grinds it out of the zone, or grinds it to make a play later. He never panics, his head is up. He's a very intelligent player, I'll tell you that. His ability is his ability, but his ability is right here (pointing to his head) and right here (pointing to his heart)."

Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has certainly appreciated Tanev's efforts throughout the year.

"You guys see it out there. He's very underrated, I think, even when people talk about how good he is defensively. He's so poised with the puck, he makes great plays, and he blocks a lot of shots, he's a goalie's best friend back there."

"No surprise from him. Tough guy, competitor, ultimate type of warrior, albeit impressive," Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said of Tanev.

Tanev will be a major part of the Maple Leafs' push towards Stanley Cup contention, he's a long-term part of the team's window after signing a six-year contract worth $4.5 million annually on July 1, and he has perhaps defined the team's identity change under Craig Berube more than any other play. He's proven to be more than an elite shot blocker for the Maple Leafs, as veteran leadership takes on many forms.

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Maple Leafs rave about Chris Tanev returning to game after taking puck to face

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