Welcome to the sleepiest month of the hockey calendar. Free agency has slowed to a crawl, rosters are close to complete, and no games are in sight.
That said, some discussion-worthy news and notes do trickle in here and there.
The first news is the lack of news regarding Jani Hakanpaa. On July 1, multiple insiders, including Elliotte Friedman, tweeted that the Leafs came to terms with the defenseman on a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million per season). However, the Leafs have not officially announced the signing at any point. He is still not listed on their official website even though all of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz are present. It took nearly two weeks for Connor Dewar to appear on the team’s roster after he signed, so they clearly aren’t diligent about updating their website. However, Dewar is listed now, and Hakanpaa still isn’t.
I’ve reached out to Hakanpaa’s agent multiple times, seeking confirmation of the contract situation without a response. It appears David Alter has experienced similar.
PuckPedia also noted that the contract has not been registered.
Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
On July 1, Brad Treliving said the following about the player:
“With Jani Hakanpaa, he is a penalty killer. One of the areas that we wanted to address, looking back at last season, is our penalty kill. That is an area that Jani really shines in. You saw that in Dallas over the years, and specifically this past season.”
It might not have been a splashy acquisition, but for a team with a lottery-level penalty kill last season, it was a big addition. The fact that Treliving tried to get this done on the first day of free agency underscores its importance. This wasn’t a mid-July shot in the dark after the market cooled down. It was a day-one priority.
Promptly after the reported signing, Steve Simmons noted the following about Hakanpaa’s status:
“But one with a knee so bad that some think — although the Leafs disagree — that he may never play again.
The Leafs signed him to play but many doubt he will. It’s said to be bone-on-bone with not much knee left. It’s said to be trouble.”
That article garnered a lot of attention, so Simmons followed it up with this tweet on his reporting process:
When the Leafs signed Jani Hakanpaa, I did what I always do when Leafs sign a player I do not know.
I asked people who do know. Or should know.
l was told by two different sources that they were shocked any team would sign him. I was told they didn't think he'd play again— Steve Simmons (@simmonssteve) July 2, 2024
Years ago, Simmons wrote that Mats Sundin’s career was in jeopardy due to hip surgery. You can read about the whole ordeal in this archived PPP post. Sundin played two more seasons afterward, including a 78-point, 74-game campaign in which he was awesome as usual.
So, it’s fair to question the validity of this report. It’s possible Hakanpaa is signed, sealed, and delivered, shows up to camp, and by Christmas, we’re all wondering how this was ever really a story at all.
As of today, given that the Leafs haven’t announced it—which is what Leafs PR would also tell you if you ask them, by the way—and his representatives won’t confirm it, there seems to be a story here. Frankly, this whole ordeal invites questions for Brad Treliving and his management team.
If Simmons is correct – and verified it by simply talking to two separate sources – but the GM was prepared to give Hakanpaa $3 million, it constitutes a red flag. In Treliving’s first summer, he signed John Klingberg for over $4 million, and Klingberg was battling an injury that was affecting him. As Klingberg described in November, “It’s always been there throughout my career, but I’ve been able to deal with it and work through it. But it kind of hit a rock bottom here these last few weeks.”
Ryan Reaves, who was handed a three-year deal at age 36, plays with knee braces:
“I have very loose knees. I’ve torn both knees, like, a ton of times, and I just don’t feel comfortable on the ice without them anymore. I’ve tried taking them off, and my knees are so loose that when I cut, like, to get out of bed the next morning, sometimes they pop out. So, keep ’em on. I wouldn’t even practice without them.”
Add it all up, and it invites questions about the management team’s credibility regarding their due diligence on free-agent signings.
If Simmons’ report is true, a journalist – who is now at the Olympics and covers more than hockey – was able to call two people and find something out that the GM, his management team (which includes a doctor on the staff), and the medical personnel couldn’t figure out, leading to a two-year deal that may not come to fruition. This scenario would be legitimately concerning.
Some might dismiss it as nothing more than a contract with a third-pairing defenseman falling through – i.e., small potatoes – but if they can’t get the details right with the smaller signings, what happens when the big ones arrive? They’ve already gone short on term with Auston Matthews and maxed out William Nylander’s deal in every humanly conceivable way.
This is to say nothing of the fact that they also planned for this player to play a critical role for them. Hakanpaa was a top penalty killer and would have played an integral role on one of the team’s biggest sore spots last season. Since July 1, the Leafs have made no other moves of note to their NHL roster, although they have added a collection of interesting depth players.
The team could have used the $1.5 million elsewhere and planned it differently in a number of ways. Considering they were rumoured to be in on Matt Roy and Nikita Zadorov and seemingly pivoted to OEL and Hakanpaa, they could have used the total of $5 million between OEL and Hakanpaa entirely differently. I won’t go through all the scenarios, but the point is that they made a plan and thought they executed it, only for it to blow up in their face possibly. That’s poor management if the Hakanpaa situation goes south.
The silver lining of the situation is that it might end up working out okay for the Leafs. Without Hakanpaa, they have roughly $1.275 million in cap space, which should be enough space to sign Nick Robertson and keep one of Conor Timmins or Dakota Mermis on the roster. Assuming they can pull it off, they would be able to carry 13 forwards and seven defensemen from the start of the season, with potentially a little room to start accruing cap space ahead of the trade deadline. The roster flexibility at forward and defense would help keep players on their toes by rewarding players and rotating bodies in and out of the lineup.
The Leafs lucked into Klingberg’s season-ending surgery not even two months into the season after he started the 2023-24 campaign poorly, providing them with cap space and flexibility. Now, they potentially can’t sign Hakanpaa, but it would give them enough cap space to sign a Nick Robertson or keep an Easton Cowan with the team while also making Simon Benoit a top-six defenseman (a job he’s earned).
However, the way this ordeal has been handled is eyebrow-raising – from potentially inadequate homework on the player to publicly acknowledging the player as a signing on July 1 to simply buttoning up and going quiet amid the uncertainty. The team didn’t have to come out with an official statement. Still, Treliving specifically named and discussed the signing. They could either confirm that they have, in fact, signed him or leak to someone in the media that he failed a physical (or whatever the case may be) and the deal fell apart. Multiple avenues are available; saying nothing at all is the poorest choice. Complete and utter silence, leaving everyone twisting in the wind, is out of touch with the marketplace and strikes me as tone-deaf.
I don’t think this is a case of making a mountain out of a molehill or manufacturing talking points in the dog days of summer. They had a plan they seemingly believed they executed, a reporter took half a day to question it, and now there is radio silence. Even if Hakanpaa does sign and it all works out in the end, chalking it up to a poorly handled PR matter is about the nicest possible outcome.
Other Offseason Odds and Ends
– The Leafs announced that they have hired Mark Leach as their new Director of Amateur Scouting. He replaces Wes Clark, who oversaw three draft classes for the Leafs, including the selections of Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebonykin in 2022, Easton Cowan and Noah Chadwick in 2023, and the most recent draft in which Clark admitted that they “knew what Tre liked,” and were presumably influenced by it in drafting Ben Danford among others.
Clark was able to lead the staff and identify talent capable of making the team. In saying that, Leach has also been an integral piece of one of the more successful drafting teams (relative to draft position) in the league over the past few years (Dallas). Treliving ultimately making his own hire makes sense, as pretty well every GM is known to do. I won’t waste any ink arguing about who has more credibility between the two head scouts — the proof will be in the pudding — but clearly, Leach has credibility as well.
The bigger story is whether Treliving can add more draft stock. The Leafs possess a second, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh in 2025. They own a first, a third, and a fifth in 2026. Presumably, they will add at the trade deadline as well. It’s unreasonable to expect much from the draft when you barely play the game.
– The Leafs added Alex Nylander on an AHL deal, which is a noteworthy contract approach. They don’t need to pass him through waivers to send him to the Marlies, and they would also need to sign him to an NHL deal to call him up to the Leafs. This ensures that he will be starting the season in Toronto, one way or another.
There is no risk here, but what stood out to me was Nylander noting that his injury is behind him. After a decent showing in Chicago with the Blackhawks – 10 goals and 26 points in 65 games – he tore his meniscus and needed surgery, missing the following year and a half. It seemed to take him some time to return to form, but in 2022-23, he tallied 50 points in 55 AHL games, followed by 32 in 43 last season in the AHL. He ended the year with an 11-goals-in-23-game NHL cameo with the Blue Jackets.
Nylander still couldn’t land an NHL deal afterward and must be humbled by the AHL deal. If nothing else, he’s a great scorer in the AHL, which means someone like Fraser Minten or Jacob Quillan will have a potential top-flight linemate to play with (an important consideration for the organization). If Nylander does develop into anything beyond a top AHL scorer, it is gravy. He owns a great shot; if he has a clean look on a goalie, he will bury, and he can bury from a distance. That’s a skill you can’t teach.
– Nick Robertson and Alex Steeves are the remaining RFAs to settle now. Steeves produced his third straight big season in the AHL, scoring a career-high 27 goals and 57 points in 65 games. At minimum, he is a very good AHL player, and he’s still just 24. Bobby McMann made the Leafs at 27.
– There is talk amongst fans about inviting veterans on PTO, but the Leafs’ roster situation is important to note here. If they sign Robertson, they will have 13 NHL forwards signed, not including Cowan. In the AHL, they have Minten, Grebonykin, Nylander, Quillan, and a few other potential callup-calibre players. I wouldn’t say it’s a loaded group in the AHL rife with options, but there are some interesting players, and the Leafs should have 13 forwards without a PTO. Unless they can’t sign Robertson, it doesn’t make much sense to add a veteran. There won’t be a spot.
– Speaking of Nick Robertson, I think it’s important to sign him. The Leafs will need to replace Tyler Bertuzzi’s 21 goals and also be prepared for Auston Matthews not to score 69 goals again. Even a very, very good 55-goal season from Matthews is a 14-goal drop, which would mean they need to replace 35 goals. Considering the Leafs haven’t added anyone up front, the improvement will have to come internally. Some of it should come on defense with the addition of OEL, but what about up front? Robertson put up 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games while playing just 11:23 per night. He is a prime candidate to produce more with even modest power play time and a few extra minutes per game.
– Beyond Robertson, it seems like a good chunk of the first half of the season will be about what young/inexperienced players can take a step forward, be it Knies, McMann, Holmberg, or Dewar. Add to it Max Domi needing to score more than nine goals, and if Calle Jarnkrok stays healthy, he’ll score more than 10, too. Similarly, Marner will score more than 26 if he’s healthy.
