Maple Leafs put Chris Tanev on injured reserve

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev was placed on injured reserve Monday with an upper-body injury, and the team does not yet know how long he will be out, according to NHL.com and TSN.

The move is retroactive to Oct. 10, the night Tanev was hurt in Toronto’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. NHL.com reported that he left the game at 11:08 of the first period.

The Leafs have not announced the nature of the injury. TSN’s Chris Johnston said on the network’s Insider Trading segment Tuesday that Toronto has not yet gathered enough information to say how long the 36-year-old will miss.

“They just feel they need a little bit more time here to do due diligence, to run some more tests,” Johnston said. He added that the club “just doesn’t yet have all the information they need to give an accurate picture of how long he’ll be out.”

Johnston said he sees some reason for optimism. He also said he is not suggesting this is a repeat of the problems that limited Tanev last season, when a spinal cord issue and a concussion contributed to a long absence. Tanev played 11 games last season.

TSN host James Duthie described the play on which Tanev was hurt as one with “not much contact.”

Any extended absence would test Toronto’s depth on the back end, and the retroactive date means his time on injured reserve counts from Oct. 10.

To fill the roster spot, the Leafs recalled defenceman Marshall Rifai from the Toronto Marlies on Monday, NHL.com reported.

There was other roster news around the team. NHL.com reported that forward John Tavares practised Monday and was likely to play Tuesday against Utah after missing Saturday’s game for the birth of his son. Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson did not practise Monday for maintenance.

The Leafs were scheduled to play Utah on Tuesday. Further updates on Tanev’s condition, including whether the injury will keep him out for weeks or longer, are expected once the additional testing is complete. Neither the team nor the league has given a return date.

Via NHL.com and TSN.

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