He was a left winger and played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks.

The following season, Tanti moved up to the major junior level with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

He made his NHL debut with the Black Hawks in 1981–82, appearing in two games (no points), but spent the majority of the season back in the junior level with the Generals.

[3] Tanti joined a Canucks team that had competed in the Stanley Cup Finals the previous year (they lost to the New York Islanders).

They failed to match that level of success during Tanti's tenure with the team and struggled to qualify for the playoffs yearly.

The following season, Tanti recorded 79 points (41 goals and 38 assists) over 77 games, earning the Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as the Canucks' leading scorer for the first time.

Tanti left Vancouver with Rod Buskas and Barry Pederson in exchange for Dave Capuano, Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn.

[notes 1][1][4] In a 2012 article by The Province, columnist Jim Jamieson declared Tanti as the Canucks' "first true sniper" in team history.

[1] Tanti concluded his NHL career with brief stints in Pittsburgh and Buffalo before playing for six seasons in Berlin, Germany.

Following his retirement from playing, Tanti returned to live in the West Vancouver neighbourhood and entered the flooring business.