Chris Tanev may be done for the season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have just been dealt a devastating blow.

According to a breaking news report from National Hockey League insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, it sounds like the season for Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev may already be over.

On Sunday, Pagnotta reported that Tanev is expected to meet with a surgeon in the coming week to determine the best path forward when it comes to his recovery from injury. Additionally Pagnotta reports that, should Tanev indeed need to go under the knife, he would effectively miss the rest of the season with a return set for some time around late April or May.

In his short tenure with the Maple Leafs Tanev has proven himself to be arguably the most important player on the Maple Leafs blue line on a night by night basis. The contrast from when Tanev has been in the lineup, only for 11 games this season, when compared to how the Leafs perform on defense when he's not in the lineup has been startling. Tanev has however been severely limited by multiple injuries through the season and has just 2 points, both assists, over those 11 games played this season.

Tanev is of course already 36 years of age and has put a ton of miles on his body throughout his NHL career so you do have to wonder what kind of condition he will be in after another major surgery. Tanev is only in the second year of the six year deal he signed with the Maple Leafs at a cap hit and average annual value of $4.5 million per season, which could lead to some big headaches for the Maple Leafs down the line.

This would be a terrible outcome for the Maple Leafs and could drastically impact their hopes of making the playoffs this season.