Leafs trade for Tanev less than 48 hours before free agency starts

The Toronto Maple Leafs are acquiring the rights to defenceman Chris Tanev in a trade with the Dallas Stars.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported this deal, which has been confirmed by several other sources.

Hearing Toronto will be acquiring Chris Tanev’s rights from Dallas

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 29, 2024

Tanev, who was acquired by the Stars in a trade from the Calgary Flames prior to this year’s trade deadline, is set to become a UFA in two days time. According to his agent, a deal between his client and the Leafs hasn’t been worked out.

Chris Tanev’s agent Wade Arnott says there is no agreement at the moment with the Leafs. They haven’t spoken yet. Toronto just acquired his rights so obviously Arnott expects to hear soon from the Leafs.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 29, 2024

This is a huge pick up for the Leafs, assuming a deal can be reached between the two sides. The Leafs have made it a priority to improve their blue line this offseason, and getting Tanev locked up would help do just that.

There was speculation that the Leafs may be interested in another former Flames and Vancouver Canucks defenceman as well in soon to be UFA Nikita Zadorov, though the acquisition of Tanev may have taken them out of those sweepstakes.

The 34-year-old Tanev won’t provide must offence, but has been one of the league’s best shut down defenceman for several seasons. He is an elite penalty killer who isn’t afraid to put his body in front of shots. On top of that, he is also fantastic at shutting down opposing teams top stars, making him a very valuable player on the back end.

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