Gardiner up at forward?

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Gards was a forward before he was drafted so its not like it would be a huge change.

He switched to defense his junior year of highschool, IIRC. It would be a huge change.

 

[thewave]

He switched to defense his junior year of highschool, IIRC. It would be a huge change.

Again he has the mindset its displayed in how he moves. He could convert if they wanted or he wanted to but there is no way to guage the probability of success.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Again he has the mindset its displayed in how he moves. He could convert if they wanted or he wanted to but there is no way to guage the probability of success.

I think the unkown of switching a position after several years, coupled with the fact that he holds more value as a defenseman, should be enough to squash the idea prior to it ever gaining steam.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I have never seen a d-man so dangerous on both ends of the ice.

 

[namttebih]

How about Staal blowing by him like a pylon...kid is so fast that should never happen. I still love him though, just give him time he will learn like Kadri did when to pinch and be aggressive and when not to.

I'm pretty sure that that was Franson...oh the second goal and Jordan NM

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Interesting dilemma this Gardiner situation.

 

[jimmycarter]

i suggested it here during the bruins game.

his skating is so good he could wheel back and carry the puck up the ice.

as stupid as it sounds...i think he should be used like the rover in softball...a mid forward if you will. because i don't he would be very useful in the corners and downlow.

 

[KesselLooksLikeRadar*]

So, wait, the Leafs, who have tremendous forward depth and an arguable top 5 offense in the league should convert one of their NHL defensemen (Something they don't have a lot of) and move him to forward, where, in all likelihood, there is practically no room for him?

I'm sorry; but this is a bad idea. We have a defenseman. Lets try to develop him first, please.

 

[Future]

He's fine where he is. Patience is key with these kind of players. He hasn't been really turning the puck over as much as last year and infact, I think he has been our best defender in terms of not turning it over and making smart passes, but where he seems to be not up to speed is his board play. He seems to get outmuscled a lot and strong players can get by him. He just needs to adjust to these guys again and he'll be fine.

Forward is just a stupid idea. I remember Wilson tried it in a game against Nashville last year and he looked so out of place lol.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Gardiner reminds me of Phil Housley for those that remember him play, could be interesting to see how the Leafs will use him moving fwd, with Rielly being groomed for the PMD of the Leafs for the future, Gardiner's importance to the Leafs is less in this role, thus maybe his value lies on the hybrid fwd/D man role. He also had a lot of interest in him from other NHL teams, he could be a valuable chip to play to upgrade our team. Like I said the Gardiner situation is an interesting one.