Recent public appearance shows Hakanpaa may not be signing in Toronto
A recent public appearance in Finland shows that Jani Hakanpaa may not be signing in Toronto after all.
When the free agent market opened on July 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs went out and made some additions to shore up their blueline for the 2024-25 season and among those were Jani Hakanpaa, formerly of the Dallas Stars.
It's been over one month since it was announced that Hakanpaa had agreed to terms on a two-year deal with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs have yet to make it official.
Hakanpaa suffered a knee injury last season, forcing him out of action in March and for the remainder of the year, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 32-year-old had an arthroscopic procedure on his knee and it's unclear if he will be ready to go for the start of the 2024-25 season, which is likely why the Maple Leafs haven't registered the contract with the NHL or announced it officially on social media.
Recently, Jani Hakanpaa was attending an event in his home country of Finland and a fan spotted him wearing a Dallas Stars jersey and wondered if he was still going to be signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, given he was donning a uniform of his former team.
I don't think this Hakanpää deal is happening with TOR. It's definitely not done at least."
It's safe to say that they're probably looking too deep into it. Given that Hakanpaa's contract isn't registered with the National Hockey League or announced by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he's still an unrestricted free agent and can wear the uniform of his former team if he wishes.
Last season, the Kirkkonummi, Finland native appeared in 64 games for the Stars where he put up 12 points (two goals, ten assists), 33 penalty minutes and was a plus-ten.
Update: according to David Alter, there has been no clarity on the defenders situation from his agents either.
| POLL | ||
3 AOUT | 41 ANSWERS Recent public appearance shows Hakanpaa may not be signing in Toronto Do you think Jani Hakanpaa will end up signing/playing with the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 7 | 17.1 % |
| No | 34 | 82.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
