Jani Hakanpaa believes he can still play hockey despite the knee injury.
On July 1, it was reported by multiple NHL insiders that the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Hakanpaa to a two-year $3 million deal. However, it was then reported he was dealing with a knee injury that could end his career, but NHL insider Chris Johnston says the defenseman still believes he can play.
“From what I gather is going on here, Hakanpaa did finish last season with a very significant knee injury in Dallas. He believes he can play on his knee. But I don’t know that there’s unanimity in that opinion from those that are looking at his medical file and just concerns that, essentially, he’s got bone-on-bone. It’s not a situation that could be terribly comfortable,” Johnston said on The Chris Johnston Show.
“What’s interesting about medical-related issues is some players do manage to play through certain things that others can’t. Everybody’s bodies are different, pain tolerance, what have you. The X-rays themselves are black and white but sometimes what they tell you, the information isn’t black and white,” Johnston added.
The Maple Leafs Hakanpaa has never been made official so he still is a free agent. Last season, he skated in 64 games recording 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points.
Insider Says Hakanpaa Wants to Continue His Career
Although NHL insider Nick Kypreos said the Dallas Stars medical staff didn’t approve any deal for Hakanpaa, Johnston said the defenseman still believes he can play with his knee injury.
“I think it really comes down to the medical opinion, how much risk the organization is willing to take. But Hakanpaa certainly seems intent on continuing his career, feels that maybe he needs some time off but will be able to play, ultimately on that knee,” Johnston said. “And we’ll have to find out if the Leafs feel the same way, and that’ll be determined, I suppose, if he does sign a contract or not.”
Hakanpaa was expected to be a third-pairing right-shot defenseman for the Maple Leafs. However, his contract has still not been made official, and whether or not it will is uncertain.
Maple Leafs GM Working Through Hakanpaa Issue
When the Maple Leafs named Auston Matthews their new captain on August 14, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving spoke to the media and was asked about the Hakanpaa contract.
Treliving said that wasn’t the time to comment on the contract but it was something he was looking into.
“We’re working through that. Today, we’re dealing with this. But we’ll get to that, hopefully, sooner rather than later,” Treliving said.
When the deal was reported on July 1, Treliving said he envisioned Hakanpaa being a shutdown defenseman for the Maple Leafs.
“With Hakanpaa, again a penalty killer. One of the areas looking back at last season that we wanted to address was our penalty kill. That’s an area that Jani really shines in. … You saw that in Dallas over the years, and specifically this past season,” Treliving said.
“We’ve got a group of defensemen. I’d rather have too many than not enough, and we’ll try to sort this out in the coming days. Today’s a day that you can add players, but you build your team over the course of the summer. There are certainly some areas that we still want to address and still want to augment,” Treliving added.
Hakanpaa has skated in 288 NHL games recording 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points.
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Insider: Jani Hakanpaa Believes He Can Play Despite Knee Injury