The Toronto Maple Leafs seem to have potentially been granted a get out of jail free card with Jani Hakanpaa, a ridiculous signing they tried to make earlier this summer.
The Toronto Maple Leafs should take the win and bank the money.
Earlier this summer, just after the initial free-agency frenzy, the Leafs signed the Dallas Stars worst defenseman, Jani Hakanpaa.
Jani Hakanpaa, signed 2x$1.5M by TOR, is a physical depth defenceman and penalty killer. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/wgJLYJawj4
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024
Hakanpaa is the tallest player in the NHL and also one of the worst. Since he isn't mobile enough and can't move the puck enough to be effective, there is no point in having him on an NHL roster. He is terrible, and signing him - especially to a contract over the league minimum - was extremely dumb.
However, as his injury status is up in the air and the signing looks like it might be nullified, the Leafs may have caught a great break.
And if they did, they need to be smarter about how they use their money.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs Get a Do-Over They Must Be Smarter
Hakanpaa signed a two-year deal worth a $1.5 cap-hit. It's not a lot of money, but every penny you spend over the league minimum for a player who can easily be replaced for the league minimum, is a waste of money, and that money adds up.
Kampf, Jarnkrok, Reaves, Timmins, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit are players the Leafs have who a) make above the league minimum and b) do not have upside and c) do not figure to be far enough above replacement-level to warrant the money spent on them.
The NHL's minimum salary is $775K but if Easton Cowen were to make the team this year on his entry-level deal, he'd be just over $900K.
If we add up the aforementioned replacement players on the Leafs and subtract the money needed to replace them with a rookie, the Leafs would have $6.4 million extra dollars to spend., With the rookies in place of the name-brand vets, they would be slightly worse but they would have almost enough money to buy a star player, and any star player + 5 Rookies is coming out way ahead of what they have on their current roster.
This is meant to illustrate the importance of finding value in contracts. The Toronto Maple Leafs might be slightly better in the short-term by signing Hakanpaa, let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say he makes them better today.
The problem is that in the NHL the MVP is only worth about six wins over 82 games. Hakanpaa's contributions if he had a career year likely wouldn't equate to one win.
Knowing that, they are DEFINITELY better in the long-term when you consider the player they use in his place would have more upside, being under the cap actually grows the cap space you'll have later, and a wider variety of better players is likely available near the trade deadline.
The Leafs obsession with filling in every possible roster spot during the summer is counter-productive. There is enough guessing in hockey scouting that you truly never know what your prospects will do until they get an opportunity.
If the Leafs gave opportunities at the fringes of their rosters to their own developing players instead of constantly brining in the likes of Hakanpaa, Giordano, Edmundson, Lyubushkin, Dewar, Gregor, Aston-Reese, Ryan Reaves, etc. etc. etc. they would be a better team.
So take the win, Brad. If Hakanpaa is cancelled, then rejoice. But don't re-invest the money. The Leafs don't need Alex Nylander. They didn't need Daniel Sprong.
What they need is to create an environment where there is a chance that Ty Voit, Roni Hirvonen or Alex Steeves could make a difference at the NHL level.
The mantra is simple: stop signing duds.