Leafs’ Chris Tanev placed on injured reserve; Marshall Rifai recalled

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their top blueliners for the foreseeable future.

The team announced Monday that defenseman Chris Tanev has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 10. Defenseman Marshall Rifai has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

The team also announced that Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take a maintenance day and won’t take part in practice on Monday.

Tanev was forced to leave Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche after he sustained an upper-body injury in the first period. Through six games this season, Tanev has one assist and averaged 16:51 of ice time.

Tanev, 36, was limited to just 11 games in 2025-26 after he suffered a concussion early in the season. He was acquired by Toronto from the Dallas Stars at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, then signed a six-year, $27-million contract that will pay him an average annual value (AAV) of $4.5 million through the 2029-30 season. 

Through 17 NHL seasons, Tanev, a native of Toronto, has 36 goals and 175 assists for 211 points, averaging 19:55 of ice time in 884 career regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, Stars, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. 

As for Rifai, the Beaconsfield, Que., native has spent most of his five-year professional career with the Marlies. He has nine goals and 44 assists for 53 points and 300 penalty minutes in 212 career AHL regular-season games.

Rifai was part of the Marlies’ Calder Cup championship run last spring. In 24 games, he had two goals and four assists for six points.