NHL Insider reveals return dates for Toronto Maple Leafs' Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa

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Tom Banks
October 27, 2024 (3:40 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been struggling in recent times, and now it appears they may be getting two key players back shortly.

Through nine games this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been less than stellar, posting a 4-4-1 record thus far, and with a very tough stretch of games upcoming, they'll look to find their best form of the season. To do so, they may be looking to shake the lineup up once more, and now, according to David Alter, they may have some extra reinforcements to do just that.

In his latest social media post, Alter reveals that both Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa are on the verge of a return, joining the team on their latest road trip.

As mentioned, they both have to wait another two games before they officially make their return, but when they do, it will give Head Coach Craig Berube two more names to potentially add to an already deep lineup. Given that the team is struggling to find a place for Timothy Liljegren, it's unclear exactly what Hakanpaa's role will be on this team, but in the case of Dewar, we've seen that in the past he can be a key, valuable member of the Maple Leafs bottom-six.

At this current point in time, there's no obvious candidate to come out of the Maple Leafs lineup, but after three straight losses, the team may need to mix things up if they want to find their form early in the season. With Steven Lorentz, Ryan Reaves, and David Kampf on the fourth line, there are obvious moves to be made for Dewar, but less so for Hakanpaa who would likely come in for Phillippe Myers or Simon Benoit, so now we wait and see how things will play out for the struggling Maple Leafs.