Jani Hakanpaa officially removed from Maple Leafs' PuckPedia page
The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to officially register Jani Hakanpaa's contract with the NHL, which is a growing concern that a deal may not cross the finish line.
When the Leafs had reportedly inked Hakanpaa to a two-year, $3M deal worth $1.5M per season, The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons revealed there were major concerns from the Dallas Stars about a knee injury that could be career threatening.
As the Leafs announced all of their other signings like Max Domi, Anthony Stolarz and Chris Tanev, Hakanpaa's reported signing was and has never been announced.
Hakanpaa underwent knee surgery late last season and has been rehabbing since. While the Leafs agreed to a contract with the 6'7 blueliner based on the medical reports from the Stars, but as TSN's Chris Johnston reported, the Leafs are waiting for Hakanpaa to pass a physical/medical with their staff.
Now, however, things are not looking good as Puckpedia removed him completely from the Leafs' roster yesterday as the contract has still not officially been registered with the league, leaving lots of doubt that Hakanpaa will be medically cleared to play.
It's the second off-season in a row that Brad Treliving has signed a former Dallas Stars defenseman with injury concerns. Last season, it was John Klingberg who underwent season-ending hip surgery in December and is still recovering, but at least this time, Treliving and the Leafs will not be on the hook for Hakanpaa's salary if he is unable to pass his physical and won't have to juggle a roster with him on LTIR.
Unfortunately, with the delay in his signing, the Leafs have already missed out on a number of potential replacements and the defensive market is getting quite thin meaning the Leafs may have to rely on a less than ideal replacement or replacements.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 18 | 435 ANSWERS Jani Hakanpaa officially removed from Maple Leafs' PuckPedia page Do you think Jani Hakanpaa's pro hockey career is over? | ||
| Yes | 287 | 66 % |
| No | 148 | 34 % |
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