- The Maple Leafs ruled Chris Tanev week-to-week with an upper-body injury
- Jim Hiller said his forwards need to help the defense out and brushed off talk of adding a blueliner
- Read below for Hiller’s full comments and Toronto’s options on the back end
The Maple Leafs have a defense problem, and Jim Hiller wants the forwards to be part of the fix.
Toronto announced Thursday that Chris Tanev is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Hiller was asked about the hit to his blue line after the morning skate and said he isn’t worried yet.
Hiller talked about how the team plans to cover for the 36-year-old.
“Tanev’s a good player; that’s well established, but we have other good players,” Hiller said. “We just have to help them out a little bit.”
Here’s the update as it hit Thursday morning:
Hiller went a step further on the forwards. He said the group left its defensemen exposed during the recent road trip.
“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,” Hiller said. “You’ve got to help your defence. I don’t care who’s in.”
Watch Hiller’s full pregame media availability:
Hiller was also asked whether Toronto will look to add a defenseman. He passed on that one.
“Not my job, first of all,” Hiller said. “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.”
Tanev got hurt in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Avalanche, and we covered his exit when it happened. He played five shifts and 3:29 before leaving. The Leafs put him on injured reserve Monday, retroactive to Oct. 10, and recalled Marshall Rifai from the Marlies. Rifai made his season debut Tuesday against Utah.
Tanev has one assist in six games this season and is averaging 16:51 a night. He played just 11 games last year because of spine and groin injuries and a concussion, and he has never finished a full NHL season.
The Leafs (3-3-1) host the Sabres tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Troy Stecher and Nick Blankenburg become the right-side names to watch while Tanev is out.
