The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the rights to Chris Tanev, a pending free agent and veteran defenseman, from the Dallas Stars yesterday.
The trade allowed the Leafs to negotiate with Tanev before he entered free agency today. Now it appears Tanev has signed a contract with the Leafs; however, the terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed.
Kevin weekes of TSN reported that the Leafs could offer Tanev a five-to-seven year deal to lower the average annual value (AAV) and help them cap-wise. Kevin Weekes however revealed the deal is more likely going to have an elevated AAV around $5,000,000.
Tanev, 34, split his 75 games between the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames last season, scoring 19 points (17 assists and 2 goals). He is undoubtedly regarded as a shutdown defender, though, and he greatly improves the defense.
AAV is elevated. We will have to wait and see till the exact number of years is out, but given that the length is still unknown, it is probably a shorter term deal. In either case, albeit at a little higher cost, the Leafs receive the desired back-end update.
