The Toronto Maple Leafs have been loving the results they’ve gotten in Year 1 of the six-year contract Chris Tanev signed in the 2024 offseason, and on Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he made history for a 118-year-old franchise.
After blocking a Blue Jackets shot at 7:08 of the first period in Saturdays’s game, Tanev became the Maple Leafs’ record holder for most blocked-shots in a single season of all time, with his 177th of the season. This come with seven games remaining in the season, and despite the fact that he has missed seven games himself.
Although there were concerns from some fans regarding Tanev’s age and durability at the time of his signing, the Toronto native has delivered in just about every aspect for the Maple Leafs. Beyond setting records in defensive categories, he’s formed the best shutdown pair the Leafs have had in recent memory with Jake McCabe, entering Saturday night’s game with 622:11 total time on ice and leading the team in penalty kill time-on-ice-per-game with 2:31 and 2:30 respectively.
While most would marvel at the thought of setting a record for a franchise as storied as Toronto, especially your hometown team, Tanev brushed it off, noting that he doesn’t pay attention for individual stats like that.
“Yeah, I did not know that,” Tanev said of the possibility of setting a new record for his team. “It is what it is.”
He passed former Maple Leafs defenceman Carl Gunnarsson to take the record, a guy who played a very similar role to a lesser degree. Neither defenceman are physical or rely on the big, booming hits to make space, but their fearlessness to get in front of pucks and put their body on the line strike a similarity. Tanev does it on a different level, however.
Tanev has two goals and 17 points in 68 games this season.
Sponsored by bet365