Confirmed Signing with Link: [CAR] Jake Gardiner to the Carolina Hurricanes (4 years, $4.05M AAV)

[jaric1862]

Weather, Limited media pressure, Taxes, Going to his former rivals team. I think there’s a multitude of reasons why he didn’t sign

 

[Leafidelity]

It's starting to become a thing for UFAs to shun Montreal

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If Gardiner is playing with Pesce this year. He's going to do very well this season. Looking fwd to seeing him on a good defence corps.

If Faulk is moved, it's likely:

Slavin-Hamilton
Gardiner-Pesce
Bean/Fleury/Forsling - TVR

Maybe McKeown or Priskie make it and it depends on if TVR is ready to start the season.

 

[Stubu]

Everyone be honest, I would rather play in Raleigh than Montreal. For one, the team is better, which is important if you want to win. For 2, you have a solid group of players to play with there on defense.

Then there are other considerations. If you don't speak french, there will always be a language barrier everywhere (restaurants, bars, etc. Even if people speak English everything is French first). You won't have to deal with the media coming down on you (he dealt with it in Toronto why would he go to Montreal?).

Then consider the cost of living, weather, and more term / overall money... Very easy choice.

You're coming off at the seams. It's like asking a Briton it they want Switzerland or Norway and asking for a coherent answer. Language barriers are surely not the show-stoppers you describe.

Look, it's okay to be a Leafs fan and a Canes fan. Probably the two worst positions you could think of. So I salute you for your courage.

 

[CupInSIX]

It's starting to become a thing for UFAs to shun Montreal

How soon we forget Alzner left Washington because he wanted to win with the Habs.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

If Faulk is moved, it's likely:

Slavin-Hamilton
Gardiner-Pesce
Bean/Fleury/Forsling - TVR

Maybe McKeown or Priskie make it and it depends on if TVR is ready to start the season.

That's a pretty nice #2 pairing for the total price of 8M.

 

[Kamiccolo]

You're coming off at the seams. It's like asking a Briton it they want Switzerland or Norway and asking for a coherent answer. Language barriers are surely not the show-stoppers you describe.

Look, it's okay to be a Leafs fan and a Canes fan. Probably the two worst positions you could think of. So I salute you for your courage.

I think I offer different perspective given I have gone through not knowing a word of French, and moving to a place where I had to fight my way through it and try to learn it. I was a young man at that point, and I don't think I'd have the energy to do something similar at this point in my life.

So I totally understand someone not wanting to not only move their family and put them through that, but themselves especially when it is only for 3 years.

 

[SlavinAway]

That's a pretty nice #2 pairing for the total price of 8M.

It's a nice top 4 for ~ $19M.

 

[Cenzo_]

Everyone be honest, I would rather play in Raleigh than Montreal. For one, the team is better, which is important if you want to win. For 2, you have a solid group of players to play with there on defense.

Then there are other considerations. If you don't speak french, there will always be a language barrier everywhere (restaurants, bars, etc. Even if people speak English everything is French first). You won't have to deal with the media coming down on you (he dealt with it in Toronto why would he go to Montreal?).

Then consider the cost of living, weather, and more term / overall money... Very easy choice.

Hahaha what a joke here. Montreal was recently voted the 6th best city in the world (https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-cities-in-the-world). If you have a minimum appreciation of culture, architecture, night life or food, Montreal is in another planet vs. small town Raleigh. Add to that the chance to play for the most storied franchise in hockey history with a stadium that is always full and with crazy energy most of the time vs. the Hurricanes that were 28th in the league in attendance last year even with their crazy run. People from Raleigh probably prefers NRA parades then Hockey

Cost of living in CAD vs USD is a wash or an advantage to Montreal and you probably never came to Montreal if you think not speaking french is a real issue. 95% of the people speak enough English to have a conversation.

Carolina being better is definitely not a guarantee. They finished the year with only 3 more points and before last year, they were a terrible team since 2006. How many times did Carolina make the playoffs in its history? 6 times

The only advantages I see for the Hurricanes are weather and less media attention.

At the end of the day, I would think the great majority of players would rather play in Montreal than Raleigh. However, I do understand that after Toronto, Gardiner probably wanted somewhere with less media attention.

 

[vorbis]

I still own a house in Raleigh and lived there for more than 15 years. Montreal rules, and the language isn't that big of a deal. a free agent's choice of city when his options are wide open is not a zero sum game. him choosing Raleigh doesn't mean he doesn't like the other places. that being said, I still reserve the right to drag the hell out of Habs fans when given the opportunity.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That's a pretty nice #2 pairing for the total price of 8M.

And the #1 pairing is only $11M. So that's a top 4 D for $19M.
Hamilton (26 YO) is signed for 2 years
Gardiner (29 years old) for 4 years
Pesce (24 years old) for 5 years
Slavin (25 years old) for 6 years

 

[Stubu]

I think I offer different perspective given I have gone through not knowing a word of French, and moving to a place where I had to fight my way through it and try to learn it. I was a young man at that point, and I don't think I'd have the energy to do something similar at this point in my life.

So I totally understand someone not wanting to not only move their family and put them through that, but themselves especially when it is only for 3 years.

Fair enough. But I still think the money helps one pull through the barriers in society, when it's only 3 years.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Fair enough. But I still think the money helps one pull through the barriers in society, when it's only 3 years.

Very true, but he can have the same money elsewhere without that inconvenience.

 

[Big Lurk]

The whole reason it took this long for him to sign anywhere is because he wanted to be in the frying pan.

I dont know if you're short on weed or tobacco, but I've brought something you can put in your pipe tonight.

Seems like we offered him a 3-year deal.

Pratt speculated that Gardiner may not have wanted to play under the microscope of another Canadian market.

You can find the articles on sportsnet now.

 

[Roboturner913]

the NRA parade thing is a new one to add to the list, I'll have to remember that

 

[Stubu]

Very true, but he can have the same money elsewhere without that inconvenience.

The language inconvenience?

 

[Stubu]

the NRA parade thing is a new one to add to the list, I'll have to remember that

Darling, don't agitate people. Pre season is unnerving enough as it is

 

[Roboturner913]

Fair enough. But I still think the money helps one pull through the barriers in society, when it's only 3 years.

Assuming Gardiner is a guy whose relatively smart with his finances and doesn't live an extravagant lifestyle, money becomes a secondary concern to quality of life when you have the kind of money he's made over the course of his career.

 

[Roboturner913]

don't agitate people

yeah, because I'm the one here agitating people. LOL

 

[Michoulicious]

Or maybe he wanted to go to a team that he thinks is a contender.

To be fair, neither team is a contender.

Tampa, Boston, St-Louis, Toronto, Nashville, SJ, Calgary, Washington, Vegas and Winnipeg are contenders.

Montreal ended the season 96 points, Carolina at 99 points. Their games against each other were really close (2-1, 4-6, 2-1 (OT)). Carolina had a nice run in the playoffs but the fact they were swept by Boston show they're not there yet. Toronto lost in 7 to Boston in a much closer serie, I'd say Toronto is quite a bit better than Carolina even if they lost in the first round.

Carolina has a definite edge on defense, while Montreal has a definite edge in goaltending.

Offense is pretty close, both team being more loaded with depth than star players.

Both prospect pools are good, with young players knocking at the door.

I'd say the odds of one or the other winning the cup in the next 3-4 years are about the same. Carolina is in a weaker division, so that helps a bit. The only contender I see in the Metro is Washington.

If rumors are true and Carolina can steal Kase from Anaheim for Faulk, then I'd give them the edge for sure. Kase is IMO a first line player.

All that to say we don't know what were Gardiner motivations to chose Carolina over Montreal, but he certainly left quite a bit of money on the table to do that.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

To be fair, neither team is a contender.

Tampa, Boston, St-Louis, Toronto, Nashville, SJ, Calgary, Washington and Winnipeg are contenders.

Probably true, but nobody knows who is going to be a contender for sure. Who would have picked St. Louis and Carolina to be in the conf. finals last year?

The difference between Toronto and Carolina was only 1 point last year (less than the difference between MTL and CAR).
The difference between WSH and Carolina was 5 points (2 more than the difference between MTL and CAR).
Nashville, WPG and SJ had 100, 99 and 101 points respectively last year vs. Carolina's 99 and MTL's 96.

I'm not suggesting that the Canes or MTL are a contender, but I won't say that they aren't one either. They both could miss the playoffs as well, but there's not a lot separating all these teams.

Just too hard to predict with the parity in the NHL now days, which makes it kind of fun.

 

[Michoulicious]

Probably true, but nobody knows who is going to be a contender for sure. Who would have picked St. Louis and Carolina to be in the conf. finals last year?

The difference between Toronto and Carolina was only 1 point last year (less than the difference between MTL and CAR).
The difference between WSH and Carolina was 5 points (2 more than the difference between MTL and CAR).
Nashville, WPG and SJ had 100, 99 and 101 points respectively last year vs. Carolina's 99 and MTL's 96.

I'm not suggesting that the Canes or MTL are a contender, but I won't say that they aren't one either. They both could miss the playoffs as well, but there's not a lot separating all these teams.

Just too hard to predict with the parity in the NHL now days, which makes it kind of fun.

Exactly. I was answering back to someone saying Gardiner chose Carolina instead of Montreal because they are more of contender, which I diasagreed with.

Still think teams like TOR/NSH/SJ/etc. are a good step above both of them.

 

[sparxx87]

Pretty good signing for 4 million.

Gardiner has his warts but his puck moving and transporting (if back stays healthy) will be a welcome addition to that blueline.

....and he probably won’t be booed by his home fans, so that’s always nice!

 

[llamateizer]

Everyone be honest, I would rather play in Raleigh than Montreal. For one, the team is better, which is important if you want to win. For 2, you have a solid group of players to play with there on defense.

Then there are other considerations. If you don't speak french, there will always be a language barrier everywhere (restaurants, bars, etc. Even if people speak English everything is French first). You won't have to deal with the media coming down on you (he dealt with it in Toronto why would he go to Montreal?).

Then consider the cost of living, weather, and more term / overall money... Very easy choice.

Lol. In Montreal you get served better in English than french. But I get your point .


I think main reason is the pression.
Remember when he was booed at home vs colorado.

With the Habs D core, he is going to be exposed . To him, He made the best choice.

 

[LeafSteel]

And the #1 pairing is only $11M. So that's a top 4 D for $19M.
Hamilton (26 YO) is signed for 2 years
Gardiner (29 years old) for 4 years
Pesce (24 years old) for 5 years
Slavin (25 years old) for 6 years

That is a gorgeous and enviable top 4.

Love the Gardiner-Pesce pairing, but I wanted it in Toronto dammit!!!

Happy for Gards, and him rejecting the Habs?