How the Leafs should manage Jani Hakanpaa’s workload leading into the 4 Nations Face-Off

Of course, teams have until the day before the tournament begins to make roster changes, so perhaps they are giving Hakanpaa all the time available to see if he is ready before making the switch if necessary. It is certainly understandable why there is hesitation from fans for his involvement in the tournament given the lengthy time off and concerns of conditioning.

Hakanpaa admitted that part of what is fuelling his recovery is the opportunity to represent his country again for the first time since 2019, in which he helped Finland capture gold at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.

“It’s a really nice thing to work toward. You have that little special thing there, you try to work your way to,” he said to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox on January 18. “It gives that little extra boost every day knowing that’s just around the corner. Hopefully, I can get there in time and help Team Finland create some good memories again.”

While it remains unclear if he will indeed be suiting up in his country’s colours in a few weeks from now, there is nonetheless going to be an attempt to make it a reality. Both Hakanpaa and the Leafs are going to have to come up with a plan for how to best utilize him during the final four games before the break.

The team is set to hit the road for their annual Western Canada trip that starts against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, and the trip wraps up the following week against the Vancouver Canucks. Three of the four teams the Leafs will play are either playoff-bound or competing for a playoff spot while the fourth team, which is the kind of atmosphere that Hakanpaa will be jumping into if he were to appear in the 4 Nations: high-intensity hockey.

Hakanpaa won’t be playing Saturday and it appears that his earliest return date would be Thursday against the Seattle Kraken.

Head coach Craig Berube likes to get players who are working their way back from injuries into a practice session with the main group first before reinserting them into the lineup. While he has been involved in more practices with the team in recent weeks, Hapanpaa has yet to be paired up with any of the regulars.

“It’s probably something we’ve got to keep managing throughout the year,” he said on November 5 regarding his knee. “We found a good routine in how to deal with it. We learned a lot even the time, but obviously through the whole rehab process, even just being here, we’ve been loading it more and more each week, each day. It’s something we’re just gonna keep managing, doing the right things, and stay on top of it.”

An ideal outcome for the towering blueliner is that he gets to play in at least two games on this Western Canada swing, when they play the Kraken and Vancouver Canucks. This way he is given a bit more time to work up his conditioning in practice and allows Brad Treliving enough time to make any necessary roster moves to fit him into the fold.

“It’s been a tough road for sure with a lot of rehab and getting everything right,” Berube said about the defenceman on November 16. “He’s a good pro, he’s a good hard worker, and he knows what he needs to do to get back. It’s still a process here going on and he’ll keep working at it. He’s been in the league for a while, has been a good player in this league, and he’s trying to get back to that form.”

Once the Leafs deem Hakanpaa ready to get back into a game, they need to keep his ice level down to around how he was used in his first two games donning the Blue and White. He averaged around 14:05 in his games against the Oilers and Washington Capitals which would have him at a third pairing role. He might be utilized on the penalty kill given his defensive prowess, but it makes more sense for Hakanpaa to be eased into being the first option so expect him to be the second or third option to start.

It would be too premature to give him shutdown minutes given his lack of conditioning but it would not be a bad idea to pair him with a more offensively minded defenceman. Whether that be Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, or Conor Timmins, it makes the most sense for Hakanpaa to be on a pairing where he has a speedier option alongside him.

Above all else, he needs to be put in a position to succeed because it would be in the best interest of Hakanpaa and the Leafs for him to feel confident about his game going into the 4 Nations. Doing so could end up paying dividends as not only could it help him do well at the tournament, but also get further conditioning so that he is ready to rock when NHL games resume and become more of a mainstay in the lineup.

Should the Leafs be able to do all of that, it will benefit all parties involved. Finland will be able to get one of the defencemen they envisioned being on their roster cleared to go, Toronto will later get a blueliner who is more fit and ready to be a regular in the lineup, and Hakanpaa will be feeling more confident in his game.

It is unclear if all of this will indeed come to fruition, but Hakanpaa remains committed to trying his hardest to be fit for Finland. If it works out, he will be appearing in the first major international hockey competition involving NHL players in over a decade. If not, then he will get a few more weeks off to continue his conditioning before getting ready for the unofficial second half of the regular season.