Jani Hakanpaa activated off by LTIR by Toronto Maple Leafs

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The cloud that enveloped Jani Hakanpaa’s playing status is finally lifting.

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Since the tall defenceman signed as a free agent with the Maple Leafs, his old knee injury from last season’s Dallas Stars put a big question mark if and when he could suit up.

That speculation ended Wednesday when the club officially activated him for the long-term injured reserve list to play againt the Washington Capitals. Hakanpaa had concluded a conditioning stint with the farm team Marlies and played two games.

Coach Craig Berube told media in Washington late Wednesday afternoon that Marlie call-up Alex Steeves would also play in the game that follows what many think was the Leafs’ worst outing, a s 3-0 home loss to Ottawa. Sitting out the back-to-back match against the Caps are defenceman Simon Benoit and winger Nick Robertson.

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The Leafs have recently moved a couple of defencemen to accommodate Hakanpaa and his $1.47-million US cap hit, trading Timothy Liljegren and waiving Matt Benning.

The 6-foot-7 right-handed shooting Hakanpaa brings more than 300 games of NHL experience to the Leafs. Speaking of blueliners who’ve been around the block, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was to appear in regular-season game No. 1,000 on Wednesday. The first round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009, also played in Vancouver and for Florida where he won a Stanley Cup last year. Leaf players were wearing themed ball caps for the evening’s milestone.

Toronto will have its hands full no matter who is in its lineup, taking on a Washington side with a record of 4-2 in its past six games.

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Left winger Alex Ovechkin, whose chances of catching Wayne Gretzky’s career goal record looked rocky in October, now has eight in his past seven games to sit 31 behind Gretzky, 894 to 863.

Ovechkin has been difficult for the Leafs to bottle up in the course of his 20 seasons. His 44 goals against them is tied for fifth-highest of all his opponents and the most of any non-divisional foe. He has scored 18 of those goals against Toronto on the power play.

Toronto’s own Dylan Strome has assisted on all 10 of Ovechkin’s goal this season as part of his own strong play.

Earlier this week, the Caps re-acquired winger Lars Eller from Pittsburgh. The one-time Cup-winning Cap (2018) has his own 1,000-game NHL history that began as a pick belonging to the Leafs, which they traded to San Jose in 2007 in the Vesa Toskala-Mark Bell deal. St. Louis got the pick and used it on Eller.

The Leafs are expected to start Joseph Woll in net against Washington.

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