Maple Leafs Deliver Worrisome Update Regarding Defenseman Chris Tanev

Chris Tanev has been one of the best additions to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season and he has been a huge reason for the blue line's success.

However, his injury on Tuesday night against the Bruins has caused quite a bit of concern, even if he isn't going to miss a significant amount of time.

Last night, the Maple Leafs played against the New York Rangers and Tanev was absent as he continued to rehab what seems like a shoulder injury.

Today, the team was back on the ice for practice as they prepare for a grueling and rare Sunday-Monday back-to-back.

The team takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow afternoon and on Monday, they are returning to Toronto where they will play against the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks.

According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Tanev was not on the ice for today's practice and it was later revealed that he has been ruled out for the next two games.

Alter also went out of his way to saw "at least" which suggests that the defenseman will actually be gone for a bit longer if we do not see any improvement.

This is definitely some disappointing news especially when you consider how Chris Tanev has been one of the most effective defenseman on the team, particular as it pertains to things like net rating.

Having said that, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is thinking of picking up a defenseman for insurance during the trade deadline, which could certainly help a lot.

Only time will tell whether or not we will see Tanev back in the lineup. The Leafs need him, and with Oliver Ekman-Larsson also dealing with issues, the situation is starting to get a bit dire.