Why the Leafs Were Undeterred by Jani Hakanpaa's Knee Injury

On July 1st, the Maple Leafs signed former Dallas Stars defenceman Jani Hakanpaa to a two-year, $3 million contract, which carries a $1.5 million cap hit.

The towering Finn, who stands at 6'7, 225 pounds, adds another much-need right handed shot, plenty of physicality and excellent penalty killing skills to the team... Or does he?

According to an earlier report by the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons, the knee injury Hakanpaa suffered this past March may be more severe than previously thought -- he may never play again.

Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos stated that the Leafs' medical team has looked into it and has total confidence that he will fully recover, but why the difference of opinion between them and Dallas' medical team? Why hasn't the contract been made official yet?

Hakanpaa missed the remainder of his season and the playoffs and has undergone arthroscopic surgery. While there is no specific timetable for his recovery, it is expected he'll be ready for training camp this September.

For now, we can only speculate on how this will all unfold. Again, it's somewhat odd that the Leafs have yet to officially announce the contract.

Toronto's blueline might not be as deep as it initially looked after July 1st.

Source: The Toronto Star
This Maple Leafs off-season is off to a nice start. There's a long way to go to conquer the Atlantic