Jani Hakanpaa Makes Heartbreaking Comments as Comeback Hopes Begin to Fade Away
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jani Hakanpaa made some pretty heartbreaking comments on Friday as it becomes increasingly clear his injury is just too much to handle.
Jani Hakanpaa was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer and immediately, his tenure became controversial due to a lingering knee injury he sustained while with the Dallas Stars.
However, the franchise went through with the deal and unfortunately, the defenseman has only played two games all season.
Jani Hakanpaa knee injury
Hakanpaa has been working hard to get over this injury but to no avail. In an article from The Athletic, he admitted that the injury is a lot worse than he thought it would be.
«I really thought I could come in, give it a little time to get up to speed, and then start playing,» he said. «I knew [I] would have to manage it throughout the year. But obviously in my head, by now I would've been playing for many, many games already."
Despite these comments, Hakanpaa believes there is still a chance he plays this season, especially with the Leafs looking at a deep playoff run.
"It just wasn't meant to be this year," Hakanpaa said. "But there's still a lot of time and we're all hopeful of still having a lot of hockey games left.»
As for when this injury started, the defenseman says it got bad last March after it seemed like he was finally in the clear.
«It was feeling really good almost the whole year and then it just flared up pretty bad,» he said. «I think we all kinda got blindsided by it a little bit. Because I felt we were doing a really good job of managing it. I was feeling pretty good. And then, just within a few weeks, it kinda went downhill pretty quick. And then we figured we'd just give it a little time and then work our way back and then it just didn't happen as fast as we thought it would. We tried to find different ways to get back.»
Needless to say, fans should not expect to see him on the ice again this season.
At the end of the day, bad signings are going to happen, and this is one that general manager Brad Treliving is just going to have to eat.
| POLL |
FEVRIER 28 | 276 ANSWERS Jani Hakanpaa Makes Heartbreaking Comments as Comeback Hopes Begin to Fade Away Do you believe Jani Hakanpaa was a mistake by the Toronto Maple Leafs? |
|
|
|
1 hour ago | By Alexander Cole Brad Treliving & The Toronto Maple Leafs Reportedly Have a Three-Team Trade in Mind |
|
2 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Bobby McMann is Becoming a Serious Problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs |
|
3 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Seattle Kraken Tell Brad Treliving to "Get Lost" After Pestering them About $21 Million Defenseman |
|
4 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Craig Berube Chews Out the Toronto Maple Leafs Following Embarrassing Loss to the Sharks |
|
14 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Scouts Flock to the Toronto Maple Leafs Game and Hint at an Imminent Trade |
|
16 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Stanley Cup Contender to Compete with Toronto Maple Leafs for Brayden Schenn |
|
17 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Timothy Liljegren Reflects on His Strenuous Tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs |
|
20 hours ago | By Alexander Cole Toronto Maple Leafs Linked to $15 Million Stanley Cup Winner at the Trade Deadline |
Previously on TorontoLeafsInsider
