Jani Hakanpaa is officially a Toronto Maple Leaf.
Weird, right?
T-minus 27 days until the season opener in Montreal! Lucky for us, we won’t have to wait long to watch these two storied rivals clash as the Leafs and Habs rookies will clash twice this weekend in Montreal.
At any rate, we kicked off the latest edition of Leafs Morning Take by discussing what Nathan MacKinnon said to Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin about Mitch Marner. In case you missed it, essentially, the reigning Hart Trophy backed Marner and said that he takes a lot of flak in Toronto despite being “one of the best players in the league.” Without question, I think Marner’s going to have a monster year. And quite honestly, that’s all that matters. There’s way too much talk about the Vail skate, that’s for sure.
Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, we dove into the Hakanpaa signing. Furthermore, we both agreed that it was a no brainer move despite the uncertainty surrounding his knee. He checks a lot of boxes, and if he can stay healthy, this could prove to be a home run signing for Brad Treliving and company. Naturally, we also spoke about where Hakanpaa could be deployed in the lineup. What does this mean for Timothy Liljegren? There’s a lot of questions to be answered.
After that, we talked some Max Pacioretty. On Wednesday, the Leafs handed the 35-year-old a PTO. That said, it sounds like there’s a contract ready to be signed once the Leafs can shed some cap. For me, the big question is where Pacioretty will play. Personally, I think he deserves a significant look in the top six. This guy’s a hired gun and should be deployed as such. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.
Lastly, we touched quickly on rookie camp. All eyes will be on Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, among others. Indisputably, those two rookies will have the best shot to crack Toronto’s NHL roster when training camp officially opens up next week. Let the games begin!
We’ll be back on Monday at 11 AM ET with a brand new episode of Leafs Morning Take. Talk then!
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube page HERE. Additionally, check us out in podcast form wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to leave us a 5-star review!
