News Article: Gardiner is waiting on the Leafs

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ACC1224

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Aug 19, 2002
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Okay - for consistency
I would have been quite fine walking away from Jake, because i thought he'd want like stupid amounts of money. I wouldn't really want to like overpay Jake (or anyone) .

but the fact that he waited this long because he wanted to be a Leaf and obviously would have taken "less" (back issues nonwithstanding) and signed for that steal of a deal. that drives me nuts. And if the only reason why we don't have Jake (issues and all), is because of Mitch.... well my view of Mitch just went down three notches today.
thats crazy
 

Blair

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Oct 15, 2006
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Jake can thank all 3 of the big 3 for having to move on.

At the number he signed at, it would have only took them signing for a collective $4M less to keep him around.

Their combined AAV is going to end up about $4M higher than what I expected (or at least hoped) they’d sign for before the start of last season. I think we have a rough idea by now of the money Mitch gets.
 

IPS

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Sep 28, 2017
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Dubas made a mistake on this. If Gardiner was given this contract by Carolina, he easily would have taken a little less on a four year deal to stay with the Leafs. The Leafs could have easily signed him by trading Ceci and had money to spare.

Dubas didn't plan out this and do his homework. Gardiner at that price should still be a Leafs. 5+ million a season I would have been ok with it, but not this price.

Where are ya'll penciling Gardiner into this lineup?

Rielly and Muzzin already have the top 2 LHD spots. He can't play RHD, been tried and it was a disaster.

LD3 was his only spot he could have, and you can't pay $4M for a 3rd pairing LHD, especially with Derrmott here and coming back from injury sometime in the year.

Dubas' intention was to balance the RHD to the LHD.
 

Joey Hoser

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Jan 8, 2008
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They didn't have to acquire him in the first place.

They didn't have to, but stands to reason it was the least costly way to get rid of Zaitsev's contract.

I'm willing to bet they did not simply decide that Ceci is a better option than Gardiner, all things being equal.
 

TheTotalPackage

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Sep 14, 2006
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Love him or hate him, warts and all, that type of deal you take Gardiner back with open arms easily. Can't believe the Canes got him for this.
 

ShaneFalco

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Jul 15, 2012
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Until further notice, Mitch Marner will be known as Rich Uncle Pennybags

Monopoly.jpg
 

ACC1224

Super Elite, Passing ALL Tests since 2002
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They didn't have to, but stands to reason it was the least costly way to get rid of Zaitsev's contract.

I'm willing to bet they did not simply decide that Ceci is a better option than Gardiner, all things being equal.
Different option, not necessarily better.
There are always alternative ways to get things done, IMO
 

kb

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Aug 28, 2009
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Mostly that life without Ceci would have been good.
Rielly and Ceci are familiar with each other from the u18's I believe, and Muzzin/Barrie were a D pair on a gold medal world championship team.

Guess we need to hope for the best.
 

Buds17

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Nov 29, 2015
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Different option, not necessarily better.
There are always alternative ways to get things done, IMO

Definitely a different option. Better or not will have to be seen during the season.

Ceci is going to be looked at to replace Zaitsev's PK role, with a lot less of a commitment contractually. The PP is already covered with Barrie and Rielly (and possibly Muzzin factors in there as well). Don't think there would have been enough of a role for Gardiner to justify a return, taking ES very much into consideration as well.
 
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SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
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The cap hit is fine (certainly not a steal though) but the term is a major issue. Gardiner is 34 when that deal is done. Do you think he's going to be the type of skater he is right now when he's playing in his 30's? Without his skating he's not an NHLer, and that doesn't even consider his back which essentially relegated him to a bad bottom pairing defensemen when he came back.

Then we have to figure out a way to use him in such a way that he can useful, and the only way he does that is by taking away prime ice time from Rielly and Barrie. The writing was on the wall once we acquired Barrie. Gardiner is without a PP role, and we won't have much ES offensive minutes to give him either. We can't trust him defensively without having him heavily sheltered, and we don't have much time or room for that on a competitive team. Especially not one on that kind of contract and at his age. Barrie is the guy they brought in to use exactly like they used prime Gardiner, except he is a RD and has a much better history of sustained success.

Finally, just in the next year alone, Dermott is going to be knocking on the door for a top 4 job, Sandin and Liljegren are going to want opportunities, and who knows what we have in other guys (ranging from Schmaltz and Harpur to Hollowell, Duszak and Lindgren). Most of those guys are not pure defensive players. They are going to get some of the ES or even PP offensive minutes that Gardiner would have received.

Dubas made the right move to not sign Gardiner to this deal, or to any deal.
 
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18leafsfan18

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Jul 28, 2012
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They didn't have to acquire him in the first place.

To get rid of 2 bad contracts they took on a single year of Ceci. If Ceci returns to himself when he was drafted in Ottawa, it's a bonus.

You also have no clue when Gardiner's ask dropped to this low. Could have been yesterday for all we know.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
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.. for 3 more years

Main thing people are forgetting. We aren't stuck to Ceci for 4 years, we are stuck to him for 1... That's a huge difference when you are talking about those 4 years being mostly in their 30's for Gardiner.

Plus there is a much better chance the Leafs can turn Ceci into something useful, even for only one year, than the Leafs would for Gardiner now that we have Barrie (and already have Rielly). I like Ceci's chances to be able to turn into a Hainsey-type player with more upside, especially on a team like the Leafs. Worst case, if Ceci is awful, he's gone. If Gardiner's back doesn't hold up, or his skating starts going down hill in his 30's (which could easily happen), or whatever else, then Carolina is stuck with a lot of dead weight.

So I would much rather have Ceci for 1 year than Gardiner for 4 at this point.
 
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