Maple Leafs Recall Defenseman Following Latest Report on Chris Tanev

The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially placed defenseman Chris Tanev injured reserve after his scary collision last night involving Philadelphia Flyers sophomore Matvei Michkov.

In a corresponding move, the Leafs have recalled Dakota Mermis from the Toronto Marlies to fill in his spot on the roster.

Mermis was originally recalled by the Maple Leafs when Tanev went down a couple of weeks ago with a concussion during their contest against the New Jersey Devils.

Tanev was discharged from the hospital earlier this morning and traveled back home to Toronto. With the Leafs opening up a 4-game home-stand, the team will be able to keep a much closer eye on Tanev. His IR placement means he will miss at least the next 3 games, but it seems likely that he'll miss a lot more time.

With the rest of the back-end relatively healthy, the 6th and final spot in the lineup will be fought over between Dakota Mermis and Phil Myers. The former has played in 2 games with the Marlies and 1 with the Leafs, whereas the latter has appeared in 4 games at the NHL-level, giving him a slight edge for Monday's game versus Pittsburgh.

With 2 serious injuries within a span of 2 weeks, the Leafs will more than likely be very cautious with Tanev and his return to play process. The 36-year-old is a key component of their defensive unit, but his health is of the utmost importance.

Players like Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo, and Jake McCabe will have to step up in his absence, but this isn't the first time the Leafs have dealt with injuries to their back-end.