Maple Leafs’ activate Jani Hakanpaa from LTIR
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they’ve activated defenseman Jani Hakanpaa from long-term injured reserve.
The #leafs have activated Jani Hakanpää from LTIR. It's been a long road for the free-agent signee who last appeared in a NHL game on March 16 because of a knee injury.
Hakanpää played two games for the AHL Marlies while on a conditioning loan this month.
Hakanpaa has yet to play a game in the NHL this season after dealing with a knee injury that he suffered in March with the Dallas Stars, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs. There was some concern that the injury may be career-ending, which also resulted in a reported two-year contract being dwindled down to his current one-year deal.
Hakanpaa’s activation also signals a return from a conditioning stint with the Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He played two games with the Marlies, and had no points during the stint.
It has yet to be confirmed as to whether or not Hakanpaa will make his Leafs debut in Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals. With Toronto playing on Tuesday and travelling to Washington, there was no practice, so we likely won’t get a confirmation until game time.
Hakanpaa is coming off of a season that was about par for the course for him production-wise, as he had 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points in 64 games in 2023-24. However, he did the finish the season as the Stars’ worst play-driving defenseman, with a team low -6.02% 5v5 expected goal share relative to his team.
Hakanapaa was a fourth-round pick for the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Draft, although he never played a game for the team despite signing his entry-level contract. After making his pro debut in 2013, he spent three seasons in the AHL before returning to Finland.
It wasn’t until 2019 when Hakanpaa finally made his return to North America and made his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks. After spending parts of two seasons with the Ducks, he was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2021 trade deadline before going to free agency at the end of that season. He then signed with the Stars in free agency, where he spent the past three seasons before going to free agency again this past summer and signing his current one-year, $1.47 million contract with the Leafs.
The Leafs will look to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators when they visit the Capitals on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST. Toronto currently sits in second in the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-2 record.