When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Jani Hakanpaa in the offseason, pretty well everyone knew it was going to come with some risks because of the issues with his knee injury.
However, the team gave him the benefit of the doubt, and unfortunately, that has not paid off.
After months of rehab, Hakanpaa eventually found his way back to the team but was only able to get himself into a total of just two games.
On November 19th, Hakanpaa was put back on the injured reserve, much to the chagrin, disappointment, and frustration of Maple Leafs fans.
At the time, Leafs head coach Craig Berube seemed enthused about Hakanpaa's status and even gave him a seal of approval.
In a new report from The Hockey News, Berube gave new comments on Hakanpaa, and they are much worse.
This has become a common theme of Craig Berube and the Toronto Maple Leafs so far this season.
With Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz, and now, Jani Hakanpaa, the team has downplayed an injury, only for it to be a whole lot worse than originally revealed.
For the sake of transparency, this is absolutely unacceptable, and the team needs to take a hard look at itself, going forward.
Some fans are beginning to lose trust in the things that are being said by authority figures, and it is because of situations like this.
POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 154 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs give an unacceptable update on defenseman Jani Hakanpaa Do you believe that Jani Hakanpaa is a lost cause for the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
YES | 122 | 79.2 % |
NO | 32 | 20.8 % |
List of polls |