Gardiner’s return brings back memories
Defenceman popular with former teammates but how will fans react?
It will be interesting to see how Maple Leafs fans react on Monday afternoon when defenceman Jake Gardiner steps onto the ice at Scotiabank Arena as a Carolina Hurricane for the first time.
The 29-year-old Gardiner had plenty of success over eight seasons as a regular on the Toronto blue line, but two ugly playoff moments often overshadowed it.
“He was a great teammate,” Leafs centre Auston Matthews said of Gardiner after Saturday’s win over the Red Wings. “Great guy, super popular, loved to be with his teammates and we loved to be around him … It will be awesome to see him.”
Gardiner — who tested free agency and signed a four-year deal with the Hurricanes, worth $16.2 million (U.S.) — has made a career as a puck-moving defenceman with elite passing skills. He was blessed with skating edges that even the Leafs’ instructors felt they couldn’t improve.
He appeared in 551 games as a Leaf — 10th most in franchise history among defencemen — while his 45 goals and 245 points rank 28th.
Beyond the numbers, he was as well liked in the dressing room as any Leaf in recent memory. Gardiner roomed with Morgan Rielly during his early years and played a significant role in Rielly’s development into an all-star calibre defenceman.
Despite his contributions to the Leafs’ progression toward the puck possession style that today’s NHL demands, many fans only remember two Game 7 failures against the Boston Bruins: in 2013, when a Gardiner giveaway led to Patrice Bergeron’s series winner in overtime; and 2018, when Gardiner went minus-5 in the deciding game. Those moments have been hard to live down. Gardiner said as much before joining the Hurricanes.
“That’s just the way it is: If you’re winning, you’re the best player on earth. If you’re losing, you suck,” Gardiner said.
“Toronto will always hold a special place in my heart.”
His play was under a microscope every game last season. The Leafs scored 60.5 per cent of their five-on-five goals with Gardiner on the ice in 2018-19, a remarkable stat, but his accomplishments were often mentioned alongside references to those playoff nightmares.
In his first season as a Hurricane, he has found the fan base in Carolina to be a bit different. At a charity golf event during training camp, for example, a fan came up and asked for a picture. Gardiner prepared to pose for one with the fan, as he had done many times as a Leaf, but was asked instead to take the picture while the fan posed with the team mascot.
In his second game with Carolina, Gardiner scored the gamewinning goal in overtime to beat the Washington Capitals. It’s been a struggle since then, however. He went 26 games without a goal, ending the drought Dec. 5 against the Sharks, and has just eight points while his plus-minus has plummeted to minus-19.
Whatever the numbers suggest, Gardiner’s former teammates know what he’ll bring to the table on Monday — when another ex-Leaf, James Reimer, might get the start in goal for the Hurricanes.
“He was a big part of the team through my time here, and I’m still a close friend with him,” Leaf Mitch Marner said of Gardiner.
“Their team is hot right now (7-2-1 in their last 10 games), so we’ve got to make sure we come ready to play.
“He loves it down there in Carolina. He’s out of the condo and into a house now, so he’s loving that … They have a lot of offensive defencemen, guys who can make a lot of plays in the offensive zone — like our team — so we’ve got to make sure we make the right plays, take care of that puck.”