The Toronto Maple Leafs biggest X-Factor ahead of the playoffs is defenseman Jani Hakanpaa.
The storyline of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jani Hakanpaa has been so strange this year. The team was rumored to to be signing him to a longer-termed contract and then they settled on a one-year deal worth $1.4M. It was a very managable cap-hit and Hakanpaa looked like he would be a perfect bottom-pairing defenseman on this roster.
Fast-forward to the end of the regular season and Hakanpaa has played two games. The monster right-handed defenseman has been dealing with a lingering knee injury all season, but has been practicing with the team for weeks, suggesting that he'll be playoff-ready.
The Leafs are right up against the salary-cap, so I think that's the main reason why we haven't seen Hakanpaa back on the roster yet, and it's why they decided to play five defenseman, instead of dressing a full team against on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
At 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, Hakanpaa is someone you want on your playoff roster. He's got a huge body that can manhandle the opposition and play a shutdown defensive role, which is so important this time of the year. With 33 playoff games of experience, Hakanpaa has played some valuable minutes in big games before and that could be very benefical for the Leafs.
The reason I think Hakanpaa is such an X-Factor for the Leafs this year, compared to some of their other players is because he can help the Leafs biggest weakness.
Leafs Could Really Use Hakanpaa in the Playoffs
The Leafs currently have the 19th best penalty-kill in the NHL, which is not good enough if they want to win a Stanley Cup this year. As we all know, special teams are almost always the deciding factor in a playoff series, as the game tightens up 5v5. As a result, if the Leafs go into the playoffs with that same penalty-kill percentage, there's a chance they're going to lose in the first round because the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Ottawa Senators all have a top-13 power-play in the NHL.
If Hakanpaa can join the Leafs roster, it would make their right-side much stronger, as you'd have Brando Carlo, Chris Tanev and Hakanpaa, which is very good. Knowing that you could have those three players on the ice for the entire game is incredibly intimidating for their opponent, whoever they face.
Not only would it make thier defense much stronger, but it would push Oliver Ekman-Larsson down the line-up, which can also be beneficial. In a perfect world, Ekman-Larsson is your seventh defenseman and someone who isn't playing every night in the playoffs. Although it's risky to think that Hakanpaa can come in and play better than Ekman-Larsson without playing much this season, I'd still take my chances.
Let's hope that the Leafs are just waiting for the playoffs to start to unleash Hakanpaa because I really want to see him play and think that he can be a big difference-maker. Those 6-foot-7, 225 pound defensemen in the playoffs are a huge plus to have on your side, instead of typically facing them.