With the regular season rapidly approaching, Craig Berube has given an update on Jani Hakanpaa, the Leafs defenceman who has had a difficult summer.
Hakanpaa officially signed a one-year contract a month ago, which was wonderful news for the Toronto Maple Leafs after an off-season clouded in uncertainty regarding whether or not he was signed to the active roster, let alone if he was dealing with an injury at all.
The Maple Leafs provided brief updates during the course of the weeks. Although there was no indication of when Hakanpaa would be cleared to play, they were optimistic that he would report to training camp around the end of September.
Though the regular season is scheduled to start soon, the updates are a little unclear as of right now. Hakanpaa skated with the main group for the first time today.
Berube was asked whether Hakanpaa will be ready for game action shortly after practice, but it appears that we may have to wait a little longer than anticipated based on his response:
Yes, that one is difficult. For now, I’m not really able to respond to that question. We must wait and find out. We got a little bit of time yet and see where he gets to and where he’s at, he’s got to be comfortable with stepping in there and playing a game.’
As things stand today, the expectations are that Hakanpaa will more than likely not be ready for the season opener on the 9th of October. As Berube noted, it’s a tough question to answer because they want to see how he reacts to practices and game reps before making a final decision.
Hakanpaa suffered a knee injury near the end of the 2023-24 season while playing for the Dallas Stars. He missed the rest of the season and the playoffs. Over the last 3 years, Hakanpaa has 40 points, 136 PIMs, 668 hits and 363 blocks, and has averaged 18:02 TOI in 226 games.
