Leafs GM Brad Treliving finally comments on the Jani Hakanpaa situation

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Julien Trekker
August 14, 2024 (1:02 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving commented on the Jani Hakanpaa situation in a recent interview.

Today was a big day for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they named Auston Matthews as the 26th captain in team history . All eyes were on him and John Tavares, who took time to speak to the media at a press conference about this big day for the organization.

However, Treliving addressed another topic when a reporter asked him to comment on the Jani Hakanpää situation.

Back in early July, the 32-year-old defenseman Hakanpää signed a two-year deal with the Maple Leafs valued at $1.5M AAV. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that the player has a knee injury that could prevent him from playing in the NHL ever again.

Since then, everyone has been wondering what will happen with him, especially after he was spotted in a charity golf tournament wearing a Dallas Stars jersey, after he had already signed his deal in Toronto.

Nick Barden of The Hockey News shared the story on X:

Unfortunately for the fans, Treliving didn't provide any answers about the situation.

He stated that he wouldn't talk about it, as this wasn't the topic of the day, but still said that they're "working through" the situation.

Per David Alter:

Hakanpää could have brought a lot of depth to the Leafs' blue line. However, his uncertain future leaves many fans wondering if the hype for the 6'7" defensive defenseman is well-founded.

He played an important role for the Dallas Stars in the 2023-24 season, scoring 12 points in 64 regular-season games before getting injured. He couldn't help his team during the playoffs and was probably looking forward to getting back on the ice with the Leafs in September.

If he manages to make a full recovery during the season, we could see him come back just in time for the playoffs, like we saw in the past with Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov and Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone.

Source: David Alter on X
Brad Treliving on the Jani Hakanpaa situation

Source for Jani Hakanpaa's statistics: NHL.com
Jani Hakanpaa