Think the Maple Leafs' Defense Is Good Now? Wait Until You See Who's Coming to the Lineup
It's been a stark contrast from a season ago, as the Maple Leafs defense has looked fantastic so far, and they still have Jani Hakanpaa waiting to make a statement.
The main goal that GM Brad Treliving wanted to accomplish this offseason was to fix any holes in the Maple Leafs lineup, and that meant revamping their defensive situation. Out were names like T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano and John Klingberg and in came Chris Tanev, Oliver-Ekman Larsson and Jani Hakanpaa; a massive improvement. So far, only Tanev and Ekman-Larsson have played, as Hakanpaa is currently nursing a nagging knee injury but they've been as advertised. Tanev has been a monster defensively and a shot-blocking machine, meanwhile Ekman-Larsson looks rejuvenated under head coach Craig Berube and is playing like he was a decade ago.
For as impressive as Toronto has been so far defensively, when Hakanpaa returns: They'll be even deadlier.
Hakanpaa has been one of the league's elite defensive defensemen over the past few seasons, using his lanky frame and size to shut down the opposition and allow the offense to take control. He's a huge asset on the penalty kill, and while he's not known for scoring too often, when he gets ahold of one: It's absolutely ripped.
Hakanpaa fits perfectly into head coach Craig Berube's system, giving Toronto another intimidating presence on the ice as they've slowly morphed into a team of giants with Hakanpaa, Tanev, Anthony Stolarz, and Steven Lorentz in the fold; not to mention 6'7 goaltender Dennis Hildeby. Upon his return, he'll likely slide in alongside Simon Benoit and form a formidable duo that should entice fear into opponents. Both men are typically more defensive players and will fit together nicely as they start building chemistry together.
Hakanpaa's analytics show that he's fantastic defensively and does enough offensively to justify his lack of production (offense doesn't always translate into scoring goals, it could be keeping pressure in the offensive zone). Being one of the more underrated defenders over the past few seasons, if Hakanpaa can stay healthy he'll be able to build upon that and become even more elite, but this time gain some more recognition. For his career, Jani Hakanpaa has 45 points in 288 games with nearly 500 blocked shots and 900 hits already in his five-year NHL tenure and has similar metrics to current Seattle Kraken defensemen Adam Larsson and former Maple Leaf Pavel Kubina.
Once Jani Hakanpaa returns to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup, it may take him a few games to get back into the swing of things. Look out though when he does, because if you aren't careful: A healthy Hakanpaa is a dangerous Hakanpaa.
| POLL | ||
Will Jani Hakanpaa make the Maple Leafs defense even more dangerous or not? | ||
