Overview

• Hakanpaa told Ilta-Sanomat in mid-August that team doctors have fully cleared his surgically repaired knee and he is ready for an NHL return
• The veteran right-shot blueliner has fielded calls from multiple NHL teams since the free-agent market opened but has not signed a standard deal
• His one-year, $1.47 million Maple Leafs contract expired after just two games in 2024–25 before he was placed on long-term injured reserve
• NHL rules bar him from one-year incentive-laden pacts due to a 400-game threshold, making a PTO or short-term depth agreement his most viable option
• Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving described the prior signing as a calculated risk that “didn’t work out,” signaling Toronto will not revisit his contract