For all the talk about Auston Matthews and whether he will or won’t play in the 4 Nations Face-Off next month, there’s another player currently on the Toronto Maple Leafs who should be garnering much more attention when it comes to that very same debate.

Simply put, it would be utterly ridiculous if Jani Hakanpaa went ahead and attempted to play for Finland.

For starters, due to a lingering knee issue, the 32-year-old blue liner has been able to dress in just two games for the Leafs this season. In fact, dating back to his time with the Dallas Stars in 2023-24, over the course of the past 310 days, those are the only two NHL contests to his name. If he looked rusty and slow in those November outings, I can only wonder what he will look like against some of the world’s best.

Suffice it to say, electing to partake in a best-on-best competition wouldn’t be the wisest decision right now. Instead, that tournament could act as an additional 8+ days of rest and conditioning to get Hakanpaa set for Toronto’s stretch drive to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After tonight, the Leafs have just six games to go before the league shuts down for roughly two weeks. Furthermore, puck drop for the 4 Nations is slated for February 12^th, which means Hakanpaa has 21 days to log some meaningful minutes, prove that his knee is no longer an issue, and get up to speed. Translation: Time’s running out —if it hasn’t already.

Perhaps a decision has already been made behind the scenes and we haven’t been notified about it, but all this seems rushed. Unlike Matthews, who’s proven over the past little while that there’s nothing to worry about injury-wise, the same can’t be said for Hakanpaa. He’s been practising for a few days right now, but at this point, there’s been no indication about his potential return to the lineup. Heck, his contract had to be restructured last summer over uncertainty surrounding the very same knee.

I’m all for guys being patriotic, but Hakanpaa suiting up to play for his country in February seems like a recipe for disaster. After everything he’s been through, is he really going to push the envelope and risk jeopardizing his opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup this spring?

It’s something that Hakanpaa and the Maple Leafs should definitely consider before the tournament gets underway.