[Signing] Canes sign Jake Gardiner - 4 years $4.05 mil AAV

[neo45]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Is the league that cap strapped that this is the most he could get or is the league maybe not as high on the player? Leafs players are always generally overhyped after all.

Gardiner is pretty good but there are a lot of teams that he would simply be redundant on at his price tag (us, Leafs etc). If he wants to win most of the good teams are set down the left side on defense and cap strapped

Can’t think of another playoff team with a top 4 spot for him and the cap space to give him 16+ million

Edit: Jets maybe, depending where they are with Connor and Laine, have the spot and potentially the cap for him but that’s about it

[Atodaso]

Out of left field but how about Faulk for Hoffman?

[Canada 02]

I thought Gardiner was a defensive liability. Maybe I haven’t watched him enough

Also, I wonder if his recent offensive numbers are inflated in Toronto, and he will come back to be a 25-30 point player with reduced offensive opportunities behind Hamilton, Faulk , Slavin and maybe even Pesce

[bubbsy]

What's the next move here canes?

[theslymonkey]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

What's the next move here canes?

They send down two 850k contracts and are under the cap. There's really no pressure for them to do anything.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

You all realize that the Oilers are gonna gift-wrap Puljujarvi to Carolina for Fleury or TVR because of this, right?

It wil be interesting to see what happens in Carolina. They are currently over the cap 1.5M. Trading TVR would get them under, but they would be limited on what they could pay JP. Trading Fleury hurts them as well as a JP contract would for sure be more than cheap 850k Fleury is on, which doesn't help them get below the cap. That is before considering the 3M potential bonsues they might have to pay. Good thing that Marleau 6M dead space is only for a single season.

For the Oilers I think they have to target Fleury since there is no way in hell Carolina takes back one of their overpaid bottom pair dmen, which would have to happen to fit TVR.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by theslymonkey

They send down two 850k contracts and are under the cap. There's really no pressure for them to do anything.

They still have too many NHL defensemen, no?

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by theslymonkey

They send down two 850k contracts and are under the cap. There's really no pressure for them to do anything.

I think it is a little harder than that. They don't send of of their Dmen down, because they would be claimed. They have 14 F signed, the two cheapest fowards save you 1.3M. They don't really have two 850k to send down. Necas makes 860k, but I think you would want him playing in the NHL.

[ComixZone]

Sounds like it could be Justin Faulk on the move per Friedman.

With CAR’s signing of Jake Gardiner, there is uncertainty about the future of Justin Faulk. Let’s see where this goes.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I may be in the minority, but I am not a fan of Gardiner. Poor man's Brodie if I am being generous. $4mm AAV is fine, but I still think he will be a whipping boy in Carolina (if there are enough fans there to give a whip).

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Sounds like it could be Justin Faulk on the move per Friedman.

Whenever Friedman makes comments like that, I always feel like the trade happens within minutes.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Whenever Friedman makes comments like that, I always feel like the trade happens within minutes.

Yeah, when he throws out things like that it’s usually a pretty quick turn around. I wouldn’t be shocked if he knows where he’s going or where a deal is close to being done, but to protect his sources he can’t do anything more than mention the player is possibly on the move, otherwise his insider info could impact trade negotiations.

[theslymonkey]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

They still have too many NHL defensemen, no?

Originally Posted by Robbob

I think it is a little harder than that. They don't send of of their Dmen down, because they would be claimed. They have 14 F signed, the two cheapest fowards save you 1.3M. They don't really have two 850k to send down. Necas makes 860k, but I think you would want him playing in the NHL.

Yeah, I was looking at Fleury and Forsling but they are just barely (a month) over their Waiver eligibility date. I was thinking they could have slid one down with Necas for the time being to be compliant until they worked something out. My mistake...

[Enoch Root]

I think Gardiner is not only one-dimensional, but flat out bad, defensively.

I don't see this as a particularly great deal (reasonable, for a UFA), and I suspect it will be an anchor before the 4 years are up.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Carolina does realize they can only ice 6 defenders a game, right? This is only going to get bad when they have 8/9 defenders and 2/3 are going to be a little ticked off with the amount of ice time they get.

[agulati]

Given that he was considered one of the biggest fishes in free agency, 4 million is a steal of contract.
I view him more as a top end second pairing defenseman though, so I think it is fair value for what he brings. Compared to Myers' crazy contract, good job by the Hurricanes.

[Harry Lime]

I never really understood why Gardiner was being rated so highly in free agency, and I guess all of the GMs couldn't understand it either. The number is good for what Gardiner brings, but it's not too far either way from his worth.

[GioforPM]

I'd keep Faulk over Gardiner but that's just me. A drop off in offence but I can live with that. Faulk is still decent offensively, younger, and plays more two way. He does make $6M in real dollars this year, so maybe that's a factor.

[Insufficient Funds]

I have to think another move is coming. Capfriendly has them at 83 million with a 24 man roster.

Faulk has been the returning rumor for the past season and a half.

[dino7c]

I think this is a case of Leafs over hype