Are the latest Jake Gardiner rumours about the Montreal Canadiens?

Jake Gardiner may have a deal in the works with a team that must move a high-priced defenceman first, and it’s possible the Montreal Canadiens are involved.

There is one full month left of the NHL offseason before things get started for training camp. However, there are still several names still available on the free-agent market, and one of them is Jake Gardiner. The Montreal Canadiens were thought to be one of the teams interested in acquiring the defenceman on or around July 1st, but with Marc Bergevin choosing to spend money elsewhere, it looks as if that route is closed.

Gardiner is a player who can help any team’s top four and has shown the ability to put up 50 points on the backend. He skates extremely well and has good offensive instincts despite his shortcomings defensively.

Aside from his issues in his own end at times, another thing that has teams reluctant to sign him is his back. Gardiner missed a chunk of games towards the end of the season with a back injury, and it seemed to be still affecting him in the playoffs. He hasn’t and won’t receive surgery for the ailment choosing to rehab it instead, but it’s making NHL executives second-guess whether they can invest in him long term.

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Another reason why some think Gardiner is unsigned is because of his relationship with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s no secret that Gardiner would welcome a return to the team he’s called home for eight years. However, the Leafs have set their priorities on extending Mitch Marner and need all the cap space they can to get it done.

Having David Clarkson and Nathan Horton as LTIR options does help in “adding” more cap room, but nothing can be certain. At least not right now.

And so Gardiner sits and waits for something to change. Apparently, something already has. This comes from Account4Hockey on Twitter who shared a discussion The Athletic’s Michael Russo had on his podcast.

According to Russo, Gardiner has a wink-handshake agreement with a team already that has term. Said team, however, needs to move out a high-priced defenceman to make it work which is why there’s been such a delay with Gardiner finding a new team.

Considering Russo covers the Minnesota Wild, they seem to be the likely team in this narrative. The Wild have over $9 million in cap space but need to sign Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, and two other non-roster players. Jared Spurgeon may be the “high-priced defenceman” in this scenario has he has one year remaining at $5.19 million.

On the other hand, this scenario could fit the Montreal Canadiens as well. Karl Alzner is a player the Habs need to move given how much he makes and how little he’s used. Fans and analysts haven’t been satisfied with what the Canadiens have done this summer when it comes to tweaking the roster and perhaps adding Gardiner is the final piece to the puzzle.

Doing that would complicate things with Victor Mete as far as his usage in the lineup. However, a left side roster pool of Gardiner, Mete, Ben Chiarot and Brett Kulak (in no particular order) is an upgrade on what the Montreal Canadiens have had.

It is wishful thinking, and that’s where things go back to reality. A scenario where the Habs add Gardiner and get rid of Alzner would have fans singing until training camp. But it does really seem as if Bergevin is done tweaking the roster.