The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Chris Tanev knowing he will provide elite defense, and one legend of the team has some solid advice for the 34-year old; the one and only Gary Roberts.
Roberts, known for his elite scoring ability in Calgary, helped Toronto become a force to be reckoned with alongside Mats Sundin, Bryan McCabe, Joe Nieuwendyk, and many more in the early 2000s. Nowadays, the Maple Leafs legend is known for his training regimen and has helped several players including superstar Connor McDavid achieve an incredible level of fitness and conditioning.
Tanev, who has trained with Roberts for the majority of his NHL career, and when Tanev came over to Toronto; he knew exactly who to call.
“He had nothing but good things to say and he’s extremely proud to be a Leaf. The teams he was on were quite successful,” Tanev said. “I mean, they didn’t end up winning but they had some good runs and good playoff series’. So, he definitely did give me some advice as I reached out to him.
“Just be yourself and be good to the fans and enjoy yourself. I mean, you’re definitely sort of in the spotlight more than maybe I would be in Dallas or Calgary. I mean, Vancouver’s a pretty big hockey market, so I’m sort of used to the Canadian market a bit,” he said. “But yeah, just be yourself and enjoy yourself. And he said the best times of his career were playing in Toronto.”
Humble but powerful advice from a Maple Leafs legend, knowing full well the team, and Tanev especially, will be under the microscope by the Toronto fans and media for the whole season. It seems like the spotlight won’t bother Tanev, and it’s really not hard to make a Maple Leafs fan happy. Just be true to yourself, be true to the fans, love the game of hockey….and a Stanley Cup wouldn’t hurt either.
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