Jake Gardiner 2.0 - More beast than man now, I am afraid...

[Ratboy]

Gardiner is STUPID.

A BIT. FAT. DUMMY.

 

[Ratboy]

*BIG

 

[PromisedLand]

the way Gards has played recently - title of this thread requires a little change - keep everything the same except replace the syllable B from beast with "Y"

 

[Egghead1999]

He looked like he got high before the game.

may be the smelling salts

 

[The Kessel Run]

He was pivoting in circles like my defensmen in NHL 18.

 

[v00d00daddy]

Leafs...please move Gardiner while his value is still high.

 

[Duke16]

He is probably here for the year, but I wouldnt be shocked if they explore an off-season move. Great at times, but when he isn't great he is awful.

 

[horner]

Leafs...please move Gardiner while his value is still high.

I agree

 

[HamiltonNHL]

He was pivoting in circles like my defensmen in NHL 18.

But fast pivoting.
Cuz he's a fast skater.

 

[thewave]

Still a great D. If Jake is terrible so is Morgan. Neither look too hot this year so far but its early and we have a winning record. The only player on this team I am made up my mind on is Bozak.

 

[Thread The Needle]

the way Gards has played recently - title of this thread requires a little change - keep everything the same except replace the syllable B from beast with "Y"

More yeast than man now, I really am afraid. He does think on the level of yeast sometimes.

 

[pcruz]

Jake the Snake has been extra good so far this season.
We should extend him for another 8 years after his current contract is up.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Looks like vintage Gardiner out there... Which isn't a good thing.

 

[1specter]

He always tends to play better in the second half. Not sure why, but I'm fairly confident that he will turn it around.

 

[Stephen]

His skating is sometimes a curse as much as it is a gift. I notice he's often facing the play off balanced because he's either leaning back too hard so he's not bearing on the puck, or he's pivoted up the ice that he's not adequately protecting it as he gets into traffic. Just weird little positional things that means he's not taking care of the puck properly.

 

[thewave]

He is sucking. He needs to turn it around.

 

[diceman934]

Still a great D. If Jake is terrible so is Morgan. Neither look too hot this year so far but its early and we have a winning record. The only player on this team I am made up my mind on is Bozak.

What?

Gardiner has struggled. Rielly has been great. For you to say that Rielly has not looked to hot in your Defense of Jake is pure nonsense.

I love Gardiner and he will pull out of it but he has been real bad for most of the season while Rielly has been real good. We need both to be real good. My issue with Jake is the amount of time he handles the puck with one hand on his stick

For me I worry about #22 as he is about as smart as a bag of pucks. Works real hard but runs around missing reads hard to play with.

 

[ponder]

Cannot believe how much he's regressed. I've been a fan of Gards in the past, but he's been awful this season. He needs to be healthy scratched, and if that doesn't wake him up, traded.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Terrible game for Gardiner from start to finish. Really don't like having him with Zaitsev as they're probably the two biggest boneheads on our team. Zaitsev I'm willing to give a bit of time due to still being relatively fresh in the league and continent, but his grace period is expiring quickly. Gardiner, on the other hand, should be entering his prime right now. If his careless play and complete lack of awareness was a result of "bad habit", we would see them being ironed out.

The fact is he is not an intelligent player. He never will be. He will continue to cost us games with the usage he is getting. I think people would be shocked at the result if we replaced his minutes with a stable and reliable defensive defenceman who can transition the puck with even league average aptitude. Dermott is that guy to me in a couple years. Until then I fear we're stuck with what we have. I may be the minority on this, but he is just as much the problem as JVR and Bozak.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I'm still interested in going after Green for the playoffs as it would push a few dmen down the depth chart.

Depth chart(not pairings):
Rielly _______
Gardiner Zaitsev
Borgman Hainsey
Rosen Carrick
Dermott Polak
Marincin Liljegren

 

[Bluelines]

Pitch forks and torches out yet? They guy caught a grove on the ice and fell, happens to EVERYONE who's ever been on the ice before. You can't blame him for bad ice.

The guy is a very good #3 or #4 dman. He is playing out of position right now. the difference between a #1/#2 and a #3/#4 is the guys who are legit #1/#2 have consistency to their games that #3/#4 do not have. A #3/#4 dman can play like a #1/#2 for stretches but will have horrible games that make them look more like a #5/#6 dman.

Jake is what he is don't expect more and don't blame him for being forced to play a position in the line-up he is not equipped to play. He is not a legit #1/#2 dman.

 

[thewave]

Pitch forks and torches out yet? They guy caught a grove on the ice and fell, happens to EVERYONE who's ever been on the ice before. You can't blame him for bad ice.

The guy is a very good #3 or #4 dman. He is playing out of position right now. the difference between a #1/#2 and a #3/#4 is the guys who are legit #1/#2 have consistency to their games that #3/#4 do not have. A #3/#4 dman can play like a #1/#2 for stretches but will have horrible games that make them look more like a #5/#6 dman.

Jake is what he is don't expect more and don't blame him for being forced to play a position in the line-up he is not equipped to play. He is not a legit #1/#2 dman.

We need a #1 and a more physical element. Our guys aren't small but they play tiny and it's going to be problematic.

 

[thewave]

I'm still interested in going after Green for the playoffs as it would push a few dmen down the depth chart.

Depth chart(not pairings):
Rielly _______
Gardiner Zaitsev
Borgman Hainsey
Rosen Carrick
Dermott Polak
Marincin Liljegren

Are you suggesting Rielly is a #1? He isnt. We do need a #1 though and a more physical team would be nice.

 

[DarkKnight]

Pitch forks and torches out yet? They guy caught a grove on the ice and fell, happens to EVERYONE who's ever been on the ice before. You can't blame him for bad ice.

The guy is a very good #3 or #4 dman. He is playing out of position right now. the difference between a #1/#2 and a #3/#4 is the guys who are legit #1/#2 have consistency to their games that #3/#4 do not have. A #3/#4 dman can play like a #1/#2 for stretches but will have horrible games that make them look more like a #5/#6 dman.

Jake is what he is don't expect more and don't blame him for being forced to play a position in the line-up he is not equipped to play. He is not a legit #1/#2 dman.

Jake has been disjointed and inconsistent of late, but I'm not criticizing him for falling, it happens to everyone. Gardiner is what he is, it ain't changing, he isn't going to "mature"....I've always believed you have to take Jake Gardiner in totality, he will amaze, he will be impactful, he will also have brain farts and head scratching moments. Accept this reality,it will never change, Jake is Jake.

 

[BertCorbeau]

I've always remembered Gardiner as a bit of a slow starter too, particularly pre-Babcock .. I'm sure he'll figure it out. Just a slump. Unfortunately it gets magnified with the team's struggles and other players struggling.