Why the Maple Leafs should pursue Brandon Tanev in free agency

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is going to be very busy over the course of the next few weeks, as he looks to change the structure of his team’s roster. While most of the attention will be on the future of Mitch Marner, and how exactly the Leafs can reshape their top-two lines, changing the identity of Toronto’s bottom six will also be high on Treliving’s priority list.

Reuniting Brandon Tanev with his brother Chris would be a major step to creating some identity among the Leafs’ forward depth.

Tanev, 33, is a pending free agent who spent last season split between the Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets. The younger Tanev finished his season with 10 goals and 22 points in a combined 79 games, including an impressive 168 hits. With head coach Craig Berube pushing for more of an aggressive style amongst his forwards, Tanev is the type of player who can push the needle when it comes to solidifying a work ethic amongst the group, a forecheck on a nightly basis, and he checks a lot of boxes when it comes to the identity aspect. Tanev knows exactly what type of player he is, and adding him to the Maple Leafs would be a huge upgrade for their bottom six.

The Maple Leafs have $25.7 million in cap space to work with this summer. With Marner likely out the door, a major chunk of the available resources will go to extending Matthew Knies on either a bridge, or eight-year deal. Add in John Tavares who appears likely to be coming back, and that will leave roughly half for Treliving to work with. The Leafs’ GM may have to get creative when it comes to filling the gap Marner leaves in the top six, but there should be some money to go around once the aftermath rolls in. This should include adding Tanev, who likely comes in around the $2.5 million range, a small decrease off his last contract, which he signed back in 2019.

Not only does adding Tanev help the bottom six, he can help alleviate some of the pressure the Leafs will feel on the penalty kill without Marner as an option next season. Tanev has a long history of killing penalties, and has averaged over two minutes per game shorthanded throughout his 10-year NHL career. He finished with 105 blocks last season, would have ranked him first among Leaf forward last season, 16 clear of Auston Matthews. It feels like there would be some brotherly competition in Toronto next season with Brandon in the mix, to see which Tanev brother can block the most shots. Chris finished with a team-leading 189 in 2024-25.

Treliving should try to move out Kampf, Jarnkrok to help reshape bottom six

While adding Tanev should be something the Maple Leafs consider, in a perfect world, Treliving is able to unload both David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok at some point this offseason, and give himself a chance to give the bottom six the facelift. Both forwards had disappointing finishes to last season, and are set to make a combined $4.5 million next season.

Moving either won’t be an easy task, as a sweetener or some sort will likely have to be included within the transaction. However, creating some more cap flexibility could go a very long way for the Maple Leafs, who will have a massive hole to fill with Marner leaving, and give themselves a legitimate shot at adding some identity-changing type of forwards for their bottom six.

A Tanev reunion should be something on the Leafs radar this summer. A longer term contract with a much cheaper AAV could be the route to take when signing the younger Tanev. It’s likely very appealing from a family aspect to not only finish off his career playing for his home-town team, but also doing so with his older brother.

Tanev brings a lot to the table, including a playing style that Berube craves. He’ll set the tone with his work ethic and willingness to sacrifice his body, and it will be on display early and often that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win a hockey game. Something the Maple Leafs need much more of heading into next year, a season in which they hope to reset themselves, and create a new identity for their roster.