Maple Leafs Drop Staggering Announcement Regarding Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa
The Toronto Maple Leafs have confirmed that Jani Hakanpaa has once again had some work done on his already surgically repaired knee.
On Wednesday, Team Finland announced a bit of a shocker during their 4 Nations Face-Off roster contained injured Leafs defenseman Jani Hakanpaa.
There had been some speculation that Hakanpaa's knee is still not quite right, leading to his most recent trip to injured reserve in Toronto. Now, the Leafs have confirmed, per NHL.com's Dave McCarthy, that Hakanpaa has gone under the knife to have some further work done on his knee.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving has come under fire in Toronto over a few of his recent free agent signings, Hakanpaa among them.
While there are some unhappy fans, though, it may help to know that Hakanpaa's absence is not expected to be a lengthy one, as the veteran blueliner will reportedly be back on the ice soon.
Hakanpaa's selection by Team Finland is also a pretty good indicator that the team has looked over his medical report and is confident that he'll be healthy enough to represent his country in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Unfortunately for Hakanpaa, he has not been able to play much hockey since way back in March of this year, when he underwent what some believed might be career-ending surgery on his knee, which was believed to be "bone-on-bone", according to an official report from the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons.
Hakanpaa had appeared in just 2 games for the Maple Leafs this season, and 2 games for their AHL affiliates, the Toronto Marlies. Hakanpaa has produced no points during that span and was a -1 during his 2-game stint with the Leafs.
| POLL | ||
5 DECEMBRE | 3017 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Drop Staggering Announcement Regarding Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa Do you think Jani Hakanpaa's knee will hold up until the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament? | ||
| Yes | 765 | 25.4 % |
| No | 2252 | 74.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
