Which traditional # is Jake Gardiner?

What is Jake Gardiner


  • Total voters
    155
  • Poll closed .

PB37

Mr Selke
Oct 1, 2002
25,297
19,299
Maine
If it's not a number 1 dman ( easy to define ) I've gone away from trying to define just what is a number 2 or a number 3 etc etc dman ( difficult to define ). Instead, I just go with top pairing, top 4 or 2nd pairing, and finally bottom pairing. It's much easier to put dmen into these descriptions IMO.

With that said, I think Gardiner is a 2nd pairing dman.
 

LeafGrief

Shambles in my brain
Apr 10, 2015
7,616
9,532
Ottawa
Good enough to carry play on a second pairing. Quality #3 and wouldn't be out of place as a #2 next to a Vlasic. Plenty of mistakes, but his offensive contributions and good defensive plays far outweigh those notable errors. His team scores more than the other team when he's on the ice and he is an active contributor in that. His ability to transition the puck from defence to offence and up the ice is absolutely elite.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,519
46,242
#4/5 on an actual contender.

I think that's a little low. Pens won back to back Cups, and Gardiner would probably be their #3 on both of those teams. At worst, he'd be the #4 in 2016 when Daley was still at his best for the Pens.

Letang (at his best) is ahead. Dumoulin due to his defense/shutdown ability is ahead. After that, it's arguable Gardiner is on par or better than any of Daley, Maatta, or Schultz (the three who are arguably the Pens' 3/4 during that stretch).
 

Canada4Gold

Registered User
Dec 22, 2010
42,973
9,179
2/3 tweener. Low end #2, high end #3. I'm in the group that thinks #1,2,3, etc is defined by the number of teams there are if talent was evenly distributed then there would be 62 #1/2's and I think Gards is probably in the 55-62 range so I voted #2. Ideally he's not your 2nd best defencemen though.
 

ijuka

Registered User
May 14, 2016
22,157
14,648
I think that's a little low. Pens won back to back Cups, and Gardiner would probably be their #3 on both of those teams. At worst, he'd be the #4 in 2016 when Daley was still at his best for the Pens.
Well, if you have 2 of the best 3 centers in the world, it's possible that you're able to compensate elsewhere. It's not the best example here because few teams have such luxury.
 

WetcoastOrca

Registered User
Jun 3, 2011
38,142
21,937
Vancouver, BC
I think that's a little low. Pens won back to back Cups, and Gardiner would probably be their #3 on both of those teams. At worst, he'd be the #4 in 2016 when Daley was still at his best for the Pens.

Letang (at his best) is ahead. Dumoulin due to his defense/shutdown ability is ahead. After that, it's arguable Gardiner is on par or better than any of Daley, Maatta, or Schultz (the three who are arguably the Pens' 3/4 during that stretch).
I’ve never thought the Pens were a good example. A generational center and a guy who is close to generational as another center. It’s not a model that can be duplicated. No disrespect to Matthews and Tavares but they’re not close to that level.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->