The Maple Leafs went into Saturday’s game in Colorado with seven defensemen in the lineup but finished with six as Chris Tanev exited with an upper-body injury. It turns out that the injury will keep him out for at least a week as he has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s Media Site. In a corresponding move, Marshall Rifai has been recalled from AHL Toronto.
While there’s no timeline for Tanev’s return, his absence will be a significant one. After missing the bulk of last season due to multiple injuries, the hope was that he’d help stabilize Toronto’s in-zone defensive play this year. He was off to a good start on that front, too, but that momentum has been stalled, at least for the time being.
As for Rifai, he had three separate stints with the Maple Leafs last season but hardly played, suiting up just once to bring his career games played total to three. Because they already have Nick Blankenburg as their seventh option, it’s likely he will move into a regular spot in the lineup for the time being, so it’s possible that Rifai will be coming up to sit as he is used to doing.
The 28-year-old has played in three games with the Marlies this season and is still looking for his first point while he had five assists in 20 contests in 2025-26. His best showing at that level came back in 2023-24 when he had 19 points in 57 appearances.
Rifai is in the second and final season of a one-way deal that pays him the minimum salary of $850K this season with a cap hit of $812,500. Toronto is several million dollars into LTIR already with ample pool space remaining so Rifai’s promotion won’t make any significant impact on their books.