Chris Tanev takes meaningful step towards return for the Maple Leafs

This season has been anything but a cakewalk for veteran defenseman Chris Tanev or his Maple Leafs. A laundry list of injury issues and absences created problems for the Leafs and their organizational depth, but as the team gets healthier, they have been able to begin to right the ship after a slow start.

The Leafs have strung together 3 consecutive wins against good teams in Pittsburgh, Florida and Carolina. Still, they miss their best shutdown defenseman, Chris Tanev.

Thankfully, Tanev finally appears to be trending toward a return, showing up at practice on Saturday. Tanev wore a red no-contact jersey, as was always expected after back-to-back head injuries.

Tanev was last injured at the start of November after a blindside hit from young Flyers star Matvei Michkov, sending the veteran defender's head snapping back and sending him falling to the ice. A stretcher was brought out to usher Tanev off the ice and to a local hospital in Philadelphia. It was his first game back from a previous concussion.

The Leafs have made their patchwork defense work, but there's no question that they're itching to get Tanev back -- even with the sudden emergence of Troy Stecher, who has thrived early on with the Leafs after being claimed off of waivers.

There is no firm timeline yet on Tanev, but the fact that he's skating and getting back into a good routine bodes well for his recovery and gives Leafs fans a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to.