Is Gardiner actually that bad

[barrsdow]

I've watched probably 3 leafs games in the past 2 seasons and he seemed fine but every time they lose they say its his fault and today it reached another level. The last poll almost unanimously had Gardiner as a second pairing Dman. So is he a good Dman or a bad one and the reason for so many losses.




Last Poll:
What is Jake Gardiner?

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[Bounces R Way]

He's actually worse.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

He's quite an enigma. He's one of those guys the advanced stats love and you can see he has some skills in handling the puck but he apparently has breakdowns and plays where he gets beat defensively with some regularity.

 

[member 290103]

He's incredibly inept in his own end. He was the main cause of the flameout in the playoffs last year and will be again this year.

Given this, I fully expect Dim Benning to sign him to a 6 year, $7M per contract.

 

[Gainesvillain]

He is a defensive tire fire and responsible for much, much more than his share of important goals against.

Good offensively, though, I must admit.

 

[barrsdow]

He's quite an enigma. He's one of those guys the advanced stats love and you can see he has some skills in handling the puck but he apparently has breakdowns and plays where he gets beat defensively with some regularity.

Is that not just a bad player? I would rather have a dman like a kris Russel who is terrible in his own zone but isn't going to tee it up for the opposing team every two games.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

He’s a riverboat gambler. Brings some solid offense from the backend but is prone to gaffes far too often.
So a second pairing guy. He needs a solid stay at home partner. But there’s no one really to play that role on the Leafs.
With the right partner his gaffes could be covered up.

 

[koyvoo]

In the right situation he could be a nice asset. If he’s being leaned upon to be your 2nd best defenseman, you may have problems with him.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

There is good Jake and bad Jake, good Jake is incredible, bad Jake, isn't bad, bad Jake is SHOCKING

 

[Ivan13]

He's a high event player and is a quality 2nd pairing D who can't be trusted on your pair that you would play alongside top lines, but can be pretty damn productive playing against lower lines and in an offensive role. This is just Leafs fans being Leafs fans and scapegoating him as they did to many a player in the past, most notably Murphy and Mahovlich.

 

[vanarchy]

Zaitsev is worse in every Leafs game I've watched.

How Gardiner takes the brunt of the heat while Zaitsev looks like an AHLer is beyond me.

 

[Taluss]

I’d take him, I don’t think he’s as bad as some are making him out to be

 

[BostonBruins11]

He's a black hole defensively, too much of a liability (but so it the majority of Leafs D)

 

[Machinehead]

Not only do the "fancy stats" like him, but his 5v5 goal differential has been great across several years.

He can't be that bad.

 

[ijuka]

He's a black hole defensively, too much of a liability (but so it the majority of Leafs D)

But his 5v5 goal scoring is 45 for, 27 against for +18 and GF% of 62.5%.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

no, he's great and the Leafs totally should give him a big contract...............

 

[sansabri]

Yes and I hope the Leafs keep him.

 

[ijuka]

Zaitsev is worse in every Leafs game I've watched.

How Gardiner takes the brunt of the heat while Zaitsev looks like an AHLer is beyond me.

Because he makes some flashy misplays that everyone notices, yet the things he does well aren't noticed by anyone who doesn't pay attention. His stats have always been great, impact's been great as well. Always has a significant positive effect on most metrics, good numbers, good goal differentials.

Leafs have players like Zaitsev who don't produce, who have a poor goal differential and poor impact but he doesn't make the flashy misplays so the uneducated fans don't even notice him.

 

[BAM]

He's a good/great 3D, can anchor your second pairing but he is prone to gaffes like any other defenseman. Personally I'd let him go this off season just because Dermott is ready to replace him and is a much better two-way d-man imo. Liljegren and Sandin potentially coming up next year help reduce any offense lost by Gardiner.

 

[LeafGrief]

2nd pairing guy who has the puck go into the other team's net more often than his own net. This has been consistently true on good Leafs teams and bad Leafs teams for nearly a decade.

He makes some high profile mistakes which has made him the biggest scapegoat on the team. If you made this poll a week ago the results are probably much more positive.

 

[Nizdizzle]

He's a high event player and is a quality 2nd pairing D who can't be trusted on your pair that you would play alongside top lines, but can be pretty damn productive playing against lower lines and in an offensive role. This is just Leafs fans being Leafs fans and scapegoating him as they did to many a player in the past, most notably Murphy and Mahovlich.

You aren't entirely wrong here, but this is in no way isolated to Leaf fans. Just read through this thread with the absurd opinions on Jake from other fanbases.

 

[BostonBruins11]

But his 5v5 goal scoring is 45 for, 27 against for +18 and GF% of 62.5%.

No offense but those numbers are inflated because of the Leafs great offense.

I wouldn't want him in our lineup.

Krug is enough of a liability and he's much better offensively, I honestly can't wait for one of our young D prospect to bump him down to the 3rd pairing/pp specialist.

 

[Empoleon8771]

He's your stereotypical defensively deficient #3 OFD. He's just a whipping boy by Leafs fans because it's easy to see his mistakes. I think someone like Montreal will sign him and be extremely happy with him.

 

[Nizdizzle]

No offense but those numbers are inflated because of the Leafs great offense.

I wouldn't want him in our lineup.

Krug is enough of a liability and he's much better offensively, I honestly can't wait for one of our young D prospect to bump him down to the 3rd pairing/pp specialist.

His numbers are almost identical to the previous two seasons. At some point you can't blame every Leaf that is producing offense on being a product of the Leafs producing offense. Jake is a big part (see: contributor) of this offense.

 

[Henkka]

I think Detroit will sign him from UFA and he'll become the Larry Murphy 2.0.