Jani Hakanpaa was reported to have signed a two-year contract with the Leafs at the start of free agency, but his deal has yet to be made official over a month and a half later.

That is because, in the days that followed the signing, concerns about him having a “degenerative knee” began to emerge, which brought into question the likelihood of him ever playing an NHL game again. Reports did emerge later that the Leafs’ medical staff gave upper management the green light to pursue the towering Finnish blueliner which made it seem it was only a matter of time before Hakanpaa would finally put pen to paper.

Still, skepticism remains as the days continue to pass without the signing being made official, with some going so far as to look at alternatives. Combine all of that with pictures surfacing of Hakanpaa wearing a Stars jersey during a golf tournament in Finland, and you have a bizarre situation that seems to have no end in sight.

For the first time since he commented on the singing on Canada Day, Leafs GM Brad Treliving provided an update on the Hakanpaa where he acknowledged that the team was working through it but opted not to expand further.

It’s understandable why Treliving felt it wasn’t the right time to go into specifics given Wednesday morning was the announcement that Auston Matthews is officially named Leafs captain, but it is nice to finally get some clarity on the situation.

The whole reason for this saga getting fans to feel uneasy about the prospects of Hakanpaa playing has been the lack of transparency on what was happening before today. After all, he last appeared in an NHL game on March 16th and the Stars camp reported that his “degenerative knee” was “bone-on-bone with not much knee left” which cast doubt on his career continuing. The more time has passed without the team making the deal for real or even including him on the roster, the more those concerns increase in volume.

A lack of an official contract also delays other areas that the team needs to tackle before the start of training camp, with the most notable being Nick Robertson. With Hakanpaa’s deal not included, Toronto has $1.28 million in cap space available which means they would be right up against it if it gets processed. Getting word on the situation soon will grant the Leafs a full picture of what other transactions need to be done regardless of whether that involves extending or trading Robertson.

This nugget from Treliving provides some much-needed lucidity on the situation because it confirms that Hakanpaa remains part of their plans. Signs that this was likely the case all along were found when newly acquired goalie Anthony Stolarz appeared on Leafs Morning Take recently where he mentioned Hakanpaa as someone the American netminder is excited to play alongside again. We likely won’t be getting any concrete answers for a while, but at least it has been acknowledged and can give parts of the fan base a sigh of relief.

It’s understandable why some may remain doubtful until the Leafs post the signing to their socials and website, but it’s hard to deny that getting something on the Hakanpaa saga is better than nothing.