Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced on Thursday.
He exited in the first period of Saturday’s 6-3 win at Colorado, logging just 3:29 of ice time across five shifts after a collision with Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen.
The Leafs placed Tanev, 36, on injured reserve on Monday, retroactive to Oct. 10, but didn’t provide a timeline for his recovery until Thursday.
One of the league’s most experienced blueliners, Tanev appeared in only 11 games last season due to spine and groin injuries as well as a concussion.
Toronto was short-handed before Tanev’s injury, in part because general manager John Chayka traded defenseman Emil Andrae to the Columbus Blue Jackets a day before the regular season in a deal that brought star forward Kirill Marchenko to the Maple Leafs.
“Tanev’s a good player; that’s well established, but we have other good players,” head coach Jim Hiller said after Thursday’s morning skate. “We just have to help them out a little bit.”
Tanev has recorded 211 points (36 goals, 175 assists), a plus-162 rating and 218 penalty minutes in 884 games with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Maple Leafs.
