Hakanpaa is the fourth Maple Leafs player — including Matthews, Nylander, and reportedly, Marner — to be representing their country at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Hakanpaa is the fourth Maple Leafs player — including Matthews, Nylander, and reportedly, Marner — to be representing their country at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jani Hakanpaa is headed to the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team Finland.
The 32-year-old, who's only played two games with the Maple Leafs this season after recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this year, is one of seven defensemen selected to play for Finland in February.
After a long summer filled with question marks following his surgery, Hakanpaa signed a one-year, $1.47 million contract with the Maple Leafs on Sept. 11. He's played two games this season, against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 13 and vs. the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 16.
He didn't register a point and averaged 14:05 of ice time through that span.
Hakanpaa was placed on the injured reserve list on Dec. 2, retroactive to Nov. 16, after the Maple Leafs' game against the Oilers. Toronto head coach Craig Berube said on Monday that the move was just to manage the situation with his knee.
"Yeah, just managing the knee, so that's all that is," the head coach said.
The 4 Nations Face-Off spans from Feb. 12 to 20 with games being played in Montreal's Bell Centre and Boston's TD Garden. Every country will play each other once before the championship game in Boston on Feb. 20.
Hakanpaa has represented Finland twice in international play. The 2010 fourth-round selection was on Finland's roster at the 2012 World Junior Championships, scoring one goal and two assists in seven game, and played in the 2018-19 World Championships.
Finland lost 4-0 to Canada in the bronze medal game.
Hakanpaa has played 290 games over his NHL career. He has 15 goals, 30 assists, and has averaged 18:00 of ice time in that span.
The defenseman played 64 games with the Dallas Stars last season and played nearly 600 minutes alongside Esa Lindell, according to NaturalStatTrick. Lindell has also made Finland's roster for the tournament, meaning we could see a reunion between the two defensemen.
Hakanpaa isn't the only Maple Leafs player to represent their country at the tournament in February. It's being reported by TSN's Chris Johnston that Mitch Marner, too, will represent his home country at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
In June, William Nylander was named to Team Sweden and Auston Matthews was named to Team USA's roster. The official roster for Canada's team will be revealed at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.