‘Working through that’: Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving addresses Jani Hakanpaa’s status
It looks like a defenseman might still be a while away from getting back on the ice.
During the press conference on Wednesday that introduced Auston Matthews as the new captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, general manager Brad Trievling was asked about the status of recently acquired defenseman Jani Hakanpää. The response was more foggy than it was revealing.
Brad Treliving says they are “working through” the Hakanpaa situation but didn’t expand any further saying today is not about that.
— David Alter (@dalter) August 14, 2024“[We’re] working through that,” Treliving said. “Today we’re dealing with this, but we’ll get to that hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Unfortunately, that was all Trieliving would reveal on the matter.
There are certainly many questions still swirling around the former Dallas Stars defenseman. The Maple Leafs signed the Finnish blueliner to a two-year contract back on July 1, with an AAV of $1.5 million. It seemed like a rather intriguing move, as the Leafs really focused on adding to their d-corps this offseason, trading for the rights to Chris Tanev, and signing free agent Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a four-year deal.
However, Hakanpää came to the team with an ailment. A knee injury has kept him out of the lineup since March, as he didn’t play in the Stars’ run to the Western Conference Final. It is easy to presume the Leafs believe that Hakanpää would be 100% by training camp. Yet, sitting one month about before players are scheduled to report, he seems to be no closer to returning to action than he was when the Leafs signed him.
If Hakanpää’s injury is severe enough, Toronto could exercise their right to put him on long-term injured reserve. The Leafs could certainly use the space, as they have just $1,275,333 in cap space, according to PuckPedia
Before the injury, Hakanpää established himself as one of the more reliable blueliners on the Dallas roster. In three seasons with the Stars, he played 80 or more games, and has been on the positive end of his plus/minus for his entire NHL tenure. In 2023-24, Hakanpää took a step back, playing in just 64 games, scoring two goals and 12 points with a +10 rating.
In 288 career games, which also saw him spend time with the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes, the former Kärpät product has notched 15 goals and 45 points, including four points in three Stanley Cup Playoff appearances.