Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller isn’t sounding the alarm on his defensive corps just yet. The Leafs announced Thursday that Chris Tanev is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, reducing Toronto’s defensive depth. Hiller said he was comfortable with the remaining defenceman on his active roster, but he’ll need the Maple Leafs forwards to contribute too. “Tanev’s a good player; that’s well established, but we have other good players,” said Hiller after morning skate. “We just have to help them out a little bit.” Tanev was initially placed on injured reserve Monday, with the move retroactive to Saturday. The 36-year-old defenceman was hurt in Toronto’s 6-3 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Tanev skated in five shifts in the first period before leaving the game. “What I was disappointed about a little bit on the trip is I thought we hung our defencemen out to dry just a little bit as a group of forwards with some turnovers, with some tracking,” said Hiller. “I think prior to going out, I thought we really were supporting our defence, getting back hard, not giving up odd-man rushes, and then it was a little bit of the opposite on that road trip. “You’ve got to help your defence. I don’t care who’s in. That, to me, is a little bit more on our forwards.” The oft-injured Tanev was limited to 11 games last season due to spine and groin injuries as well as a concussion. He has one assist in six games this season. He has 36 goals, 175 assists and is plus-162 in 884 career NHL games, including previous stops in Vancouver, Calgary and Dallas. Hiller was asked if the Maple Leafs are looking to add a defenceman to their roster with Tanev out for the foreseeable future. “Not my job, first of all,” said Hiller. “I think there’s always a lot of noise about something, so I’m not going to pay too much attention to it right now.” Toronto was scheduled to host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Both teams entered the game with identical 3-3-1 records. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
