![\"Jani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2184514433-e1754743169820.jpg\")
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Can Jani Hakanpaa continue his career in the NHL?<\/p>\n
The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> could always use some help. Adding firepower to the top-six forward group would help, and Heavy.com proposed a deal for Jason Robertson<\/a> that could make that happen. Solidifying their defense group<\/a> should also be a high priority.<\/p>\n Former Maple Leafs blueliner Jani Hakanpaa<\/a> has a clean bill of health, according to a recent report. He would be an excellent depth addition for an NHL team looking to add some physicality to their defensive group.<\/p>\n Hakanpaa is a 33-year-old right-handed defender<\/a>. The 6-foot-7, 225 lb native of Finland was drafted 104th overall by the St. Louis Blues<\/a> in 2010. Due to injury, Hakanpaa was limited to two NHL and two AHL games for the 2024-25 season. On September 11th, 2024, he signed a one-year deal worth $1.47 million<\/a> with the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n Former Maple Leafs\u2019 Jani Hakanpaa is Ready For a New Season<\/p>\n Hakanpaa was in Helsinki, Finland, in early August while attending a gathering for Finnish Olympic hopefuls.<\/p>\n At the event, he spoke to Ville Touru of Ilta Sanomat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe doctors cleared me to play in the playoffs,\u201d Hakanpaa said to Touru<\/a>. \u201cMy leg was in good condition, and I was able to train well. That was a really positive sign for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Having a clean bill of health before the end of the playoffs is a good sign for Hakanpaa. It makes a return to the NHL more likely than the alternative. It also means that he\u2019s been able to train over the summer instead of rehabbing, which is another great sign.<\/p>\n Despite missing out on practically the entire season, Hakanpaa believes he can still contribute in the NHL, whether it\u2019s with the Maple Leafs or another organization.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019ll still throw the puck at the glass and box the gang out of the goal line in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n Hakanpaa is Generating Interest From NHL Teams<\/p>\n During the same interview, Hakanpaa revealed that NHL teams have touched base with him.<\/p>\n \u201cA few teams have been interested in him since the start of the free agent market,\u201d Touru wrote. \u201cBut I want to wait a bit, watch, and sum up what and when. The intention would be to continue there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow let\u2019s see how we can get the contract work done.\u201d<\/p>\n Mika Rautakallio of MPR Hockey LLC represents the 33-year-old. That is the same agent who represents<\/a> Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>, Artturi Lehkonen of the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, and Toronto prospects, Roni Hirvonen<\/a> and Topi Niemela.<\/p>\n The Maple Leafs may be one of those teams that contacted Hakanpaa\u2019s representation. The Maple Leafs have Chris Tanev<\/a> and Brandon Carlo<\/a> as the only right-handed NHL regulars on their blueline.<\/p>\n Philippe Myers and William Villeneuve<\/a> are two other blueliners who can play the right side. Villeneuve played all of last season in the AHL while Myers suited up for 36 games with the Maple Leafs, averaging 16:14<\/a> a night.<\/p>\n Hakanpaa Could Be a Valuable Playoff Performer<\/p>\n Recording 45 points in 290 NHL games makes it clear that Hakanpaa isn\u2019t known for his offense. The towering defender brings a bite and snarl to his game that comes in handy during the postseason.<\/p>\n The 33-year-old has thrown 899 hits in those 290 games, averaging 3.1 hits per game<\/a>.<\/p>\n The former Maple Leafs defender also has 33 games of playoff experience. Hakanpaa has scored four points while throwing 132 hits<\/a>, an average of four hits per game. The right-handed defender has averaged 18 minutes a game in the regular season, and 18:50 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n In the 2025 playoffs, the two teams with the most hits<\/a>, the Florida Panthers<\/a> and Edmonton Oilers<\/a>, met each other in the Cup Final.<\/p>\n Providing a physical presence in third-pairing minutes at a reasonable price point would be something that every playoff hopeful in the NHL should be clamoring for.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCaleb Kerney<\/a> Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Maple Leafs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Can Jani Hakanpaa continue his career in the NHL? The Toronto Maple Leafs could always use some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-57386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}