Brandon Tanev

Tanev began his Providence Friars collegiate career during the 2012–13 season weighing 160 pounds (73 kg) pounds. However, the team improperly listed his weight as 10 lbs heavier and his height was never listed.[9] Tanev scored his first collegiate goal, and first multi-point game, on November 2, 2012, in a 3–2 win over Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey team.[10] He played in 33 games as a freshman, recording 11 points and finishing with a +6 plus-minus rating.[11]

During the offseason prior to his sophomore year, Tanev was invited to participate in the Washington Capitals Development Camp.[12] He returned to the Providence Friars for the 2013–14 season season and increased his output during the year with six goals and nine assists in 39 games.[11] The team finished third in Hockey East and qualified for the 2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. They advanced to the conference tournament semifinals before falling to the New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team.[13]

In his junior season with the Friars, Tanev scored the game-winning goal against the Boston University Terriers to give the Friars their first ever national title.[14] In his final season with the Friars, Tanev set numerous career highs while skating in 38 games. He registered 28 points for fourth on the team and recorded 15 goals which tied for the team lead.[11] He played in the Florida College Hockey Classic where he recorded the game-winning goal in the third period against Boston College.[15] He ended the season with a Hockey East high five game-winning goals as the Friars qualified for the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.[11]

Tanev concluded his collegiate season by signing a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the 2015–16 season with the Winnipeg Jets organization of the National Hockey League (NHL).[16] He played in three games with Winnipeg but did not register a point before signing another one-year, two-way contract for the 2016–17 season.[17]

In his first full professional season, Tanev split time between the Jets and the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. He began the 2016–17 season with the Jets after making their opening night roster out of training camp[18] but was reassigned to the Moose by December after playing in 35 games.[19] Prior to being reassigned, Tanev scored his first two NHL goals in a 5–3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on November 4, 2016.[20] Tanev played in 10 games with the Moose before being recalled to the NHL in February to replace injured defenceman Toby Enstrom.[21] He finished his rookie season with four points in 51 games for the Jets and nine points in 23 games for the Moose.[2] Following his rookie season, the Jets re-signed Tanev to a one-year, one-way contract worth $700,000 on July 10, 2017.[22]

On March 27, 2018, Tanev scored his first career NHL hat-trick, in a 5–4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins. At the time of his shootout win, Tanev had recorded six career goals in 109 NHL games. He credited his linemates, Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp, for assisting with his hat-trick.[23] On July 22, 2018, the Jets re-signed Tanev to a one-year, $1.15 million contract extension.[24]

On July 1, 2019, Tanev left the Jets and signed as a free agent to a six-year, $21 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[25] Tanev scored his first goal with the Penguins, a short-handed overtime winner, on October 16, 2019, against the Colorado Avalanche.[26]

On March 24, 2021, Tanev was placed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury.[27] A few days later, Tanev and teammate Mark Jankowski were placed on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list.[28] He was activated off injured reserve on April 1,[29] but returned to the list on April 3.[30]

Tanev's time with the Penguins was most noted for an official team head shot issued prior to the 2020–21 season featuring a peculiar wide-eyed facial expression. The look was reenacted before the following campaign by Tanev on his new team and with a slight twist and Penguins teammate Kasperi Kapanen. Tanev claimed that he saw a ghost when his first one was taken. He explained, "It was walking behind the gentleman who was taking our pictures. So it kind of caught me off guard. I haven't seen one of those things yet so it was pretty rare to see. That's why obviously I had that facial expression."[31]

Tanev was the Seattle Kraken's selection from the Penguins during the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on July 21, 2021, becoming an inaugural member of the new team.[32] On October 14, he scored two goals in the Kraken's first franchise win, a 4–3 defeat of the Nashville Predators.[33] He followed that up with two goals in the franchise’s first home victory, a 5-1 contest against the Montreal Canadiens.