Jani Hakanpaa reveals he was cleared by Leafs doctors to play in 2025 playoffs

Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jani Hakanpaa stated that he had been cleared by the team doctors to play in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hakanpaa spoke with Ville Touru of Ilta-Sanomat, a Finnish news outlet, on August 8 about the fact that nothing was stopping him from playing if the Leafs needed his services.

“The doctors gave me the green light to play in the playoffs,” Hakanpaa said via translation. “My leg was in good shape and I was able to train well. That was a really positive sign for the future.”

It is uncertain just how close the Leafs came to needing the towering defenceman during the postseason, but he was always a presence at the morning skates right up until Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. There certainly was the possibility that he could have been used, but that would have meant a significant portion of the Leafs’ blueline would have gotten injured to make room for Hakanpaa.

He admitted that it was a roller coaster year for him both physically and mentally due to all the starts and stops with trying to get back into NHL games. But he says he feels fully healthy and is committed to continuing his NHL career.

“The intention is to continue there. Now we’ll see how we can get the contract sorted out,” Hakanpaa said. “There have been a few teams interested since the free agent market opened. But I want to wait a little, see what happens, and figure out what and when.”

The 2024-25 campaign was a trying time for the 33-year-old, who missed all but two games due to lingering knee issues that he admitted early on were something he and the Leafs would have to monitor throughout the year. It followed a tumultuous offseason saga where it took nearly two months for the Leafs to make the contract official because of the aforementioned ailments.

While the acquisition was seen as a positive at the time it was first reported, things never quite worked out as both parties would have hoped despite their best efforts.

“In Jani’s case, we knew going into the summer and talking to him that there was risk,” Brad Treliving said to reporters on May 29. “We went through that process, and we took a swing, and it didn’t work out. But we’ll always continue to look at if there’s times to take swings, we’re going to try to take swings. It didn’t work out.”

The Leafs are unlikely to take another swing at Hakanpaa given how loaded their defence unit is both on the main team and in the system, so he will have to continue his career elsewhere. He feels he is ready to give it another chance and doesn’t feel that the extended time off will have any major impact on his play going forward.

“It’s still the same game,” he said. “Of course, I can’t say for sure, as I’ve never experienced anything like this before. But I’m sure I’ll still be throwing the puck into the glass and boxing people out of the goal area. My own playing has never been that great, so maybe that makes things a little easier.”