Speculation: The fans have spoken, and they don't seem to like Jake Gardiner

[The List Of Jericho]

Who is the best Maple Leafs defenceman? #TMLTalk @TSN1050Radio

Twitter Poll:

Who is TOR's best defenseman?

Morgan Rielly 84%
Travis Dermott 9%
Jake Gardiner 7%

Fans just don't care for Jake Gardiner anymore.

Or do they?

Those results are about right...Dermott proved last year he can be an impact top 4 D in the league.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I think this just means Rielly is leaf nations most fav d'man and people have also taken a liking to Dermott.

 

[ANDI P IS CUTE]

Jake will never change. He refuses to take a hit; he is scared.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Everyone was madcat Gards after that last playoff game. O was amd i am past it. Gardiner was our best defenseman last year and it was his best overall play for a entire season.

This year though he will get better again. He's darn good!!

 

[thewave]

Poor title that missed the mark by a mile. They put him 3rd by votes as best defender, and after that game 7 vs Boston. It makes all the sense he would only get so few votes.

 

[Morbo]

Power Misinterpretation

 

[Ratboy]

I want him traded. but I know not all feel the same. It's crazy how people have different perspectives in life. It's like we're all different, or something.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I want Jake resigned. Not sure why there's so much talk about Nylander's contract and not Jake's when that's the more pressing issue by far.

 

[Spirit of 67]

I remember a time when they didn't like Larry Murphy either.

 

[Spirit of 67]

I want Jake resigned. Not sure why there's so much talk about Nylander's contract and not Jake's when that's the more pressing issue by far.

This is not ever remotely accurate.

 

[Gary Nylund]

This is not ever remotely accurate.

What isn't accurate and why?

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Media sure likes to put a negative twist on things huh? Poll obviously suggests Rielly is a better dman then the other two, not that the fan base dislikes or despises Gardiner (Which many on HF do though )

 

[Joey Hoser]

Misleading title.

 

[Spirit of 67]

What isn't accurate and why?

Willy can't play this season without a contract.

Jake can. So he is not a bigger priority.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Willy can't play this season without a contract.

Jake can. So he is not a bigger priority.

That's fair, TBH I hadn't even thought of it that way, I just assumed that Willy's contract would get done eventually. The way I was looking at it was that Willy's under our control for years to come whereas Jake is UFA after this season so he' the priority in that sense. Unless they've already decided that he won't be resigned (which doesn't make much sense to me).

Maybe "priority" wasn't the best choice of words on my part, perhaps "bigger question" is better. Everyone's talking about Nylander's contract but nobody's talking much about what's going on with Jake and his impending UFA status and to me, that's the bigger question. Why aren't people asking Dubas about that?

 

[ACC1224]

Surprised Rielly didn't get 100% of the vote.

Remove Rielly from the poll and all of a sudden Gardiner is liked again,

Stupid thread.

 

[ACC1224]

That's fair, TBH I hadn't even thought of it that way, I just assumed that Willy's contract would get done eventually. The way I was looking at it was that Willy's under our control for years to come whereas Jake is UFA after this season so he' the priority in that sense. Unless they've already decided that he won't be resigned (which doesn't make much sense to me).

Maybe "priority" wasn't the best choice of words on my part, perhaps "bigger question" is better. Everyone's talking about Nylander's contract but nobody's talking much about what's going on with Jake and his impending UFA status and to me, that's the bigger question. Why aren't people asking Dubas about that?

He must have told Bob that question is off limits.
You're right though, strange no one is talking about an extension for Gardiner.

 

[thewave]

Can we have the title changed on this thread? Considering it reads like a troll job and missed the intent of the poll it is referencing?

 

[Magic Man]

Gards is one bad mofo.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Gardiner is the most under rated Leaf - and possibly D in the league. If his Jersey read Subban people would love him. They both have the same faults and strengths. Strong puck movers, elite vision, elite IQ, sometimes make some realllllyyy bad mistakes, sometimes get beat defensively. However they impact the game in a way few can.

I think if Dermott proves he can play RD this year signing Gardiner should be a must. Especially if Zaitsev rebounds and Dermott shows last year wasn't a fluke

Rielly - Dermott
Gardiner - Zaitsev

Is one of the best top 4's in the league. Easily top 10. Strong puck movers, high IQ, and likely 170 points generated from them.

 

[Trapper]

Surprised Rielly didn't get 100% of the vote.

Remove Rielly from the poll and all of a sudden Gardiner is liked again,

Stupid thread.

It's a fine line when you ask fans of team to pick best player when most popular/liked factors so heavily into the equation.
It's like asking fans of other teams to determine the trade value of each.
You would need to poll Babcock/Dubas and the players of other NHL teams. Coaches game plans and matchups are also vital.
As it stands now, we can't afford not to have either Rielly or Gardiner. They each have to anchor their own D pairing if we are to have success. Dermott needs time to grow. He's not ready for 82 game top 4 just yet, and Zaitsev needs to show what he really is 2 out of 3.

 

[Gary Nylund]

It's a fine line when you ask fans of team to pick best player when most popular/liked factors so heavily into the equation.
It's like asking fans of other teams to determine the trade value of each.
You would need to poll Babcock/Dubas and the players of other NHL teams. Coaches game plans and matchups are also vital.
As it stands now, we can't afford not to have either Rielly or Gardiner. They each have to anchor their own D pairing if we are to have success. Dermott needs time to grow. He's not ready for 82 game top 4 just yet, and Zaitsev needs to show what he really is 2 out of 3.

Basically this. WTF are they planning on doing with Gardiner is to me by far the biggest question surrounding the team. I want to know and I want to know now. If this turns out the same as the JVR story I'm not going to be happy.

 

[Cams]

No one is talking a lot about a Gardiner extension, because Nylander is priority right now. They probably won't be able to afford a big contract for Gardiner after this season because Marner and Matthews are so far above Gardiner in terms of priority. You'd be willing to sacrifice good contracts for Marner and Matthews to keep Gardiner????? Never in a million years! Not if, but when Gardiner pulls yet another 2013 GM7, 2018 GM7, or any of his other head scratchers.......

If they want to talk about what kind of money Gardiner's agent (it's almost 95% the agent for any player when it comes to demands) might be looking for, fine.....but when you have Liljgren, Dermott, and Sandin in a couple years coming up, why not move on? It would be great getting assets for him, as opposed to letting him walk, but now is the time to do that. The Leafs are in a bind in a way that trading Gardiner at the deadline is a deal most teams would make to add that one piece, but he could always be flipped for another spot that might need to be filled at that time.

The question I want to see Dubas and/or Babcock asked is How many times are you going to let this player stumble when it counts if you are serious at making more than one Cup run?

 

[56 Years No Cup]

Gardiner is the most under rated Leaf - and possibly D in the league.

And people wonder why Leafs' fans are not liked by other teams fans...

 

[Cams]

I remember a time when they didn't like Larry Murphy either.

Yes, and justly so. He was terribly slow, horrible defensively, and most importantly couldn't play the system the Leafs were employing when he was there. He was actually a home town guy who "came home", and I'm sure it was disheartening to get booed off the ice playing for the team you grew up dreaming of playing on.