Maple Leafs assign Jani Hakanpaa, Connor Dewar to AHL on LTIR conditioning loan
The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ debut for one of the team’s notable offseason acquisitions is near.
On Friday, the Maple Leafs announced they have assigned defenseman Jani Hakanpää and forward Connor Dewar to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, on a long-term injured reserve conditioning loan.
The @MapleLeafs have assigned D Jani Hakanpää and F Connor Dewar to the @TorontoMarlies on an LTIR conditioning loan.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 1, 2024Unlike traditional conditioning loans, LTIR loans only last up to six days and three games. Players who are eligible for this particular loan have sat out the minimum requirement to be considered on LTIR–24 days and 10 games–which Hakanpää and Dewar have met. The Leafs are allowed to request a two-game extension for the loan.
Both players started the 2024-25 campaign out of the lineup, with Dewar, initially placed on injured reserve, being moved to LTIR once the regular season began.
Hakanpää missed the start of the season as he continued to recover from a knee injury that he suffered late season as a member of the Dallas Stars, which kept him out of action during the team’s run to the Western Conference Final. Toronto reportedly signed the Finnish blueliner to a two-year contract once free agency opened on July 1, but the contract was never registered with the league.
Toronto and Hakanpää finally got a deal done in September, signing the 6-foot-7 defender to a one-year, $1.47 million contract.
Dewar missed the start of training camp as he was getting back into shape after having shoulder surgery during the offseason. He was acquired by Toronto right before the trade deadline from the Minnesota Wild, and was expected to make the team once again.
The Marlies’ next three games are all on the road, as they visit the Cleveland Monsters, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ primary affiliate, on Saturday. Toronto’s AHL club has had a great start to the season, winning six of its first seven games, picking up points in each contest.
The Maple Leafs (6-4-1) are set to visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Toronto sits third in the Atlantic Division in points (13) and winning percentage (.591).