Montreal Canadiens Should Inquire Into Jake Gardiner’s Availability
The Montreal Canadiens need an upgrade on defence and should look into acquiring Jake Gardiner from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Montreal Canadiens have a few obvious holes to fill this summer. The top priority has to be adding a bonafide top center. The Canadiens have lacked a legit first line center for years, and it is finally time to fill that need.
Beyond that, the Canadiens also desperately need a top four defender. Not just any top four defenceman. They need a left shooting, puck moving, offensive defenceman. Essentially, they need a partner for Shea Weber.
It’s possible that Victor Mete could play with Weber. However, he’ll be a 20-year-old sophomore, so it would be wise to bring in another left shooting defender who can skate and lead a quick breakout.
It’s a certainty that Jordie Benn, Karl Alzner or David Schlemko don’t belong on the top pairing. Nor do they belong on the second pairing with Jeff Petry. In a league that keeps getting faster and more skilled, the Habs defence continues to get slower and more “gritty” instead.
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The Montreal Canadiens need to get with the times and increase their offensive production from the blue line. They have several skilled forwards, well, wingers that spent a lot of time in their own zone last season. Adding skilled puck-moving defenders is imperative to the success of the 2018-19 Canadiens.
Someone needs to get the puck in the Canadiens zone and move it quickly up to Jonathan Drouin, Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher.
Gardiner has flaws but would upgrade Habs D.
That is why general manager Marc Bergevin should be calling the Toronto Maple Leafs and asking about Jake Gardiner‘s availability.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah he was minus 5 in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins. Let’s focus on the first 88 games he played and not just the last one.
Gardiner is a smooth-skating left-shooting offensive-minded defenceman. He scored 52 points in 82 games, including 37 at even strength, which ranked sixth among all defenders. He led the Maple Leafs in ice time, and they scored 56% of the goals while Gardiner was on the ice.
He may have a few blunders defensively, but if his team is scoring 56% of the goals while he is on the ice, his reward outweighs his risk. Not to mention, he could be paired with Shea Weber in Montreal. He primarily played with Nikita Zaitsev last season, who struggled all year. However, Gardiner finished plus 9 on the season.
Playing with Weber would help Gardiner improve his game.
Suiting up alongside Weber would give Gardiner the freedom to roam offensively. Weber would provide a safety net for him, unlike his former partner in Zaitsev. Sure, Gardiner will make mistakes defensively, but if he can score 50 points again, the Habs blue line would be much improved.
A top four including Gardiner, Weber, Petry and Mete would be pretty solid. Pushing Benn, Schlemko and Alzner into depth roles would give them a better chance of success as well. Let’s face it, Alzner was as bad, if not worse than Gardiner defensively, but scored 40 fewer points than the current Maple Leaf. Keeping the former Washington Capital out of the top four is a necessity.
Let’s not forget, Weber himself had a pretty miserable last game before becoming a Hab. The Nashville Predators were blown out 5-0 by the San Jose Sharks, and Weber was on the ice for all five goals. A player shouldn’t be judged on one game. Even if it is a hellacious Game 7.
Weber bounced back from it. Gardiner, at the age of 27 and heading into a contract year could certainly do the same.
Sometimes a player just need a better fit. Justin Schultz went from afterthought to a top four role on a two-time Stanley Cup winning team when he left the Edmonton Oilers for a team with more depth and structure.
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Gardiner could do the same. Playing with Weber would provide the perfect partner for a creative, offensive defenceman. He’s not a perfect defender, but Gardiner would be a huge upgrade on the left side of the Montreal Canadiens blue line.