Healthy Tanev waiting for chance to get back into Jets lineup

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This article was published 05/03/2018 (2753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Brandon Tanev fights for every inch of ice he gets, displaying the kind of fearless tenacity that has made him a favourite among the Winnipeg Jets coaching staff.

But these days, Tanev finds himself fighting just to see the ice. He has yet to get back into the lineup despite fully recovering more than a week ago from an upper-body injury suffered in a Feb. 3 game against Colorado. Tanev was playing, perhaps, the best hockey of his career as part of an effective checking and shutdown line, in addition to killing penalties and drawing penalties. And then he got hurt.

“The team’s playing good right now. Rolling. Guys are playing well. I’m just waiting for my opportunity,” he said following Monday’s practice.

He said there’s no frustration on his part, even though he essentially lost his spot because of something out of his control. In this case, a relatively healthy Jets roster which continues to string together wins, a big trade-deadline acquisition in Paul Stastny and the continued strong play of rookies Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic.

“Team matters first. You’re not frustrated, you go out there every day with a smile on your face and you work hard and wait for that opportunity,” said the second-year pro, who has a career-best four goals and eight assists in 46 games this season.

He’s been stuck at 100 career NHL games for more than a month now, and has no idea when game No. 101 will come.

“It’s been a while for me, coming off injury. But at the end of the day you go out there, you do your job, you play your role and play to your strengths and help your team win,” said Tanev. “I’m feeling healthy and ready to get into the lineup when I have the opportunity.

Tanev said he took a shot in the upper-body late in the Colorado game and “kind of felt something.” It resulted in more than three weeks spent on injured reserve until he was activated on Feb. 28.

“It ended up being something bigger then we expected,” he said. “Injuries are part of the game. You’ve just go to roll with it. The team’s playing really well right now. At the time before I was injured I was very happy with my game. I was confident and playing well, definitely using my speed and playing physical.”

Coach Paul Maurice said Monday he hasn’t lost sight of what Tanev can bring, but hasn’t wanted to shake things up with the team going so well. It poses a wee bit of a dilemma.

“I’m working on that. We’ve got, fairly soon… if everything plays out, four extra healthy forwards who will all have played for us. We’re still in the win now, win today mode,” said Maurice.

Back-to-back games at the end of this road trip — next Monday and Tuesday in Washington and Nashville — may provide a good opportunity to inject some fresh legs into the mix, he said.

“We can take all the time that we need with our injuries right now,” he said.

The end result is plenty of ongoing, healthy competition.

“It started to come once you could see the team kind of getting healthier, getting better. My sense from behind the bench is they don’t want to let their teammates down with average play,” Maurice said.

“It’s not so much a fear that they’re coming out. We have fairly defined roles here in terms of who you’re competing with. And it’s not where, if you have one off night, that’s not usually going to cost you your job or your opportunity in the lineup. But I have felt that our drivers go pretty hard here. Our veteran guys drive pretty hard, and everybody else seems to feel, and they do, that they need to follow along.”

Tanev said there’s no sulking from anyone these days, himself included, as players keep their eyes on the ultimate goal.

“We have great leadership in this room. It starts with our captain. Everyone understands what we need to do. We’re pushing for the playoffs here,” Tanev said.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg