As the beginning of the regular season inches closer, the questions surrounding defenceman Jani Hakanpää are getting louder.
The loudest: Will he play for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on July 1 that the unrestricted free agent had signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Maple Leafs. Two and a half months later, however, Hakanpää is still not listed on the team roster, nor have the Maple Leafs made the signing official.
General manager Brad Treliving declined to provide a clear update on Wednesday while speaking to reporters after Auston Matthews’ captaincy announcement.
“We’re working through that. Today, we’re dealing with this. But we’ll get to that, hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
Though there has been little in the way of official confirmation, it seems the reason behind the smoke and mirrors is Hakanpää’s health. The 31-year-old blueliner missed the final 13 games of the Dallas Stars‘ regular season and their entire playoff run to the Western Conference Final with a knee injury and underwent arthroscopic surgery.
Despite the surgery, Hakanpää’s future was still unclear — after his procedure, the Stars never provided a timetable for his recovery. Further to this, since his agreement with the Maple Leafs was reported, there has been some doubt as to whether or not he will be healthy enough to suit up for another NHL game.
According to Postmedia’s Steve Simmons in a report on July 1, Hakanpää’s status is much more bleak than anticipated, with sources telling him the defenceman’s injury is bone-on-bone and severely impacting the joint. Simmons further reported that those familiar with the Finn would be shocked if he played in the NHL again, though the Maple Leafs clearly disagreed.
Hakanpää injured his knee on March 16 against the Los Angeles Kings, but was averaging over 18 minutes of ice time per game for the Stars.
Hakanpää was the third defenceman tapped in free agency by the Maple Leafs, a list which includes Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Whether he is actually able to suit up for the Buds remains to be seen.