Latest News on Jani Hakanpaa a Sigh of Relief for Maple Leafs Fans

Heading into a new week of hockey, there was some concern over the health status of veteran defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, who was a scratch for the Toronto Marlies this weekend during his conditioning stint.

Thankfully, Hakanpaa's scratch appears to have nothing to do with the status of his knee. In fact, the Finnish defenseman was spotted on the ice at Maple Leafs practice on Monday, indicating that his return to action may be imminent.

Hakanpaa, who had undergone knee surgery towards the end of the 2023-24 season in an attempt to extend his NHL career, signed a 1-year deal with the Leafs ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. While he hasn't yet played a game for the Leafs, he was able to sneak into a pair of games for the Marlies and did not look out of place.

The Leafs do have a bit of a roster crunch going on at the moment, especially on the blueline. Even after the Timothy Liljegren trade, the Leafs have at least 7 NHL defensemen on the roster. Hakanpaa would make 8.

Recently, the idea was proposed of potentially assigning Philippe Myers to the AHL's Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan. The idea of placing Matt Benning on waivers or flipping him to a new team was also proposed. Either way, with the Leafs so tight up against the cap and with so many healthy defensemen on the roster, we should see a roster move in fairly short order to help relieve the roster log jam.