Montreal Canadiens Rumour: Multi-Year Offer On Table For Jake Gardiner

The Montreal Canadiens have been rumoured to be interested in Jake Gardiner since he became a free agent. The latest has the Canadiens offering Gardiner a multi-year contract.

The Montreal Canadiens biggest need heading into this offseason was to fix the left defence. The best free agent available this summer to fill that specific role was former Toronto Maple Leafs defender Jake Gardiner. It was expected he would sign a huge contract with somebody on July 1, but here we are in September and Gardiner remains a free agent.

The 29 year old has played his entire career with the Maple Leafs to this point. He was initially drafted by the Anaheim Ducks and was later dealt to the Leafs with Joffrey Lupul for Francois Beauchemin.

The Minnesota native had his best season in 2017-18 when he scored 52 points in 82 games for the Leafs. He scored 30 points in 62 last season, but was slowed due to back injuries. Those injuries must be what are scaring teams off from signing him, because much lesser players got big contracts as soon as free agency began in July.

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Still, Gardiner remains an intriguing option for teams – especially the Montreal Canadiens. He is a smooth skating left defenseman who loves to carry the puck up ice and create offence for his teammates. He is a terrific power play quarterback as he can gain the zone with control of the puck thanks to his speed and agility. He can then move the puck around the offensive zone with pinpoint passes.

The Canadiens were a top five team in the league at even strength last season. Where they really struggled was with the man advantage. They have good pieces, like Shea Weber’s booming shot, Brendan Gallagher’s net-front presence, Jonathan Drouin’s playmaking ability and Max Domi’s ability to score goals and create plays.

What they need to pull it all together is a quarterback at the top of it all to take charge and run the man advantage. They need someone who can carry the puck up ice, feed one-timers to Weber in Alex Ovechkin’s office and also fire accurate shots on net for Gallagher to create havoc in front.

Enter Jake Gardiner. His skating is exceptional and he would immediately become the best puck carrier on the Canadiens blue line. His vision and passing would make the Habs power play dangerous instead of dormant. His shot is not the hardest in the league, but is accurate and has a tendency to find its way through traffic and onto the net.

The Canadiens forwards were able to play with pace all season and it made them one of the most dangerous teams at even strength. Their 188 goals scored at 5 on 5 was ranked fifth in the entire NHL. Adding Gardiner into the mix would be a perfect fit for the speedy Canadiens forwards who could be even more dangerous with Gardiner on the ice helping them do some heavy lifting through the neutral zone.

He would be a perfect fit. And if the latest rumours are to be believed, Marc Bergevin is still trying to get Gardiner to sign with the Habs.

According to this report, Gardiner has a few irons in the fire currently. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period says there are four teams that have offers on the table for Gardiner and the Habs are one of the teams offering a multi-year contract.

If Gardiner accepts the Canadiens multi-year offer, he could find himself playing at even strength with Weber next season. That would put Victor Mete on the second pairing with Jeff Petry and would leave Brett Kulak and Ben Chiarot on the third pairing. Also, with Noah Juulsen waiting in the wings, these six would have to be on their toes to avoid being dealt to make room for the 22 year old.

There is no question that Gardiner would upgrade the Canadiens’ defence. He’s great at even strength and would vastly improve a weak power play. The face that the report says multi-year contract leaves it open to interpretation about whether that means a two year contract or a seven year contract.

I would wager that teams are offering much closer to two years. The Canadiens already have major changes coming to the salary structure of the team in two years. Gallagher, Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, Petry, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling all need new contracts in two years.

Giving Gardiner a two-year contract would allow the team to have that flexibility heading into the 2021-22 season. It would also reduce the risk if Gardiner’s back injury acts up and he is not moving as swiftly as he has in the past.

Another thing it would result in would be making the team far better in the next two seasons, which is why Bergevin is wise to still be pursuing Jake Gardiner.