The Maple Leafs' performance staff assessed Hakanpaa's knee injury several times before eventually signing a one-year deal.
The Maple Leafs' performance staff assessed Hakanpaa's knee injury several times before eventually signing a one-year deal.
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally put questions about Jani Hakanpaa's status with the club to bed when they signed the 6-foot-7 defenseman to a one-year deal worth $1.47 million on Wednesday.
Questions over the Finnish blueliner's status surfaced over the summer after he was initially linked to the club as far back as July 1.
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving explained the lengths the club went to before finally signing the player on the dotted line.
"We had Jani in town here earlier in the summer for a bit of time. Our performance staff went out there two or three times. It was him going through his rehab," Treliving explained. "We're obviously to a point where he and us feel confident. And we'll see how it goes."
It was reported in July that Hakanpaa and the Leafs were coming to terms on a two-year deal worth $3 million but in the days after free agency opened up the defender had still not signed.
The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons reported in early July that he had heard Hakanpaa's knee injury sustained while with the Dallas Stars was to a point where it was essentially "bone-on-bone".
Whatever concern there was, the Leafs eventually signed Hakanpaa while acknowledging that the pact comes with lingering questions.
"There's certainly always risk with any person coming off an injury, but he's put in a lot of work really since, I think he had surgery," Treliving said. "He had a scope on his knee, I think in March. (He) went through sort of healing and then rehab, but he's doing well. And now we'll get our hands on him on an everyday basis and kind of see where it goes."
If Hakanpaa returns to form, he brings some needed depth and penalty-killing ability that can be useful to the Leafs, not to mention he comes in as the club's biggest defenseman. He joins a defense corps that includes returning players Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit, Timothy Liljegren, while adding newcomers Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
"We tried to change up our defense. I think bringing in Tanny, he brings a lot to the table, right? I think it's strengthened us not only in his checking and defending game," Treliving said "He can move pucks all over the same way. You've got flexibility left and right side. And then Jani, to me, he specializes as a penalty killer. And there's other guys, right? We've tried to not only just, we've tried to add depth there too, right? Looking at maybe nine or ten, right? And then you've still got younger guys that are pushing and those types of things. But I'm excited to see how it all plays out."
Hakanpaa had two goals and 10 assists in 64 games with the Stars last season before he had surgery in March. He did not take part for the Stars during their 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs run that saw the club reach the Western Conference Final.
Maple Leafs prospect Topi Niemela skated with Hakanpaa in Finland this summer and provided a first-hand account of the player's recovery.
"He's in very good shape and he's very big and good in this zone so yeah, he's looking good," Niemela said of Hakanpaa.
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