Maple Leafs sign 6'6, hard-hitting defenseman Jani Hakanpaa
The Toronto Maple Leafs have significantly altered their blueline on day 1 of free agency by adding Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and now, Jani Hakanpaa.
TSN's Darren Dreger announced late Monday afternoon that the Leafs have come to terms with Hakanpaa, a hard-hitting 6-foot-6-inch Finnish defenseman, who played for the Dallas Stars in each of the last 3 seasons.
TSN's Chris Johnston added to Dreger's original report, confirming that the deal is for 2 years and will carry a $1.5M cap hit.
Hakanpaa skated in 64 games for the Stars last season, compiling 12 points and 33 penalty minutes to go along with 123 blocked shots and 196 hits.
That now means that the Leafs have Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit, Jani Hakanpaa, Conor Timmins and Cade Webber signed through at least next season, with Benoit, Timmins, Hakanpaa and Webber fighting for a spot in the lineup. The internal competition is certainly a good thing, though this could signify the end of Timmins' time in Toronto as well.
Source for stats: hockey-reference
Jani Hakanpaa stats and bio
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 1 | 923 ANSWERS Maple Leafs sign 6'6, hard-hitting defenseman Jani Hakanpaa Do you think the Leafs are done adding to the roster? | ||
| No | 759 | 82.2 % |
| Yes | 164 | 17.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
