March 14: Gardiner has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the taxi squad.
March 13: Jake Gardiner’s tenure in Carolina hasn’t gone particularly well. He has underwhelmed offensively, been in and out of the lineup at times and now he finds himself on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report (Twitter link).
The 30-year-old is in his second season with the Hurricanes and after being a core defenseman over most of his eight seasons with Toronto, he has been more of a depth player with Carolina with his offensive numbers and playing time taking big dips as a result. So far this season, Gardiner has yet to score while recording seven assists in 17 games. Meanwhile, his average ice time has dipped below 16 minutes a game to just 15:48, surpassing his previous career-low which was set last season. Clearly, this isn’t the return they were expecting when they gave him a four-year, $16.2MM contract in September of 2019.
Between the contract and below-average performance, it’s seemingly all but a foregone conclusion that Gardiner will clear at 11 AM CT on Sunday where he’ll be free to be shuffled to the taxi squad. Several teams have placed underachieving, high-priced veterans on waivers in recent weeks for that very purpose, to free up some cap and roster flexibility while bringing the player back onto the active roster for games they’ll be playing in. At this stage, it would seem as if Gardiner will follow that path; this isn’t a case where his time with Carolina will be over.
As for how much cap room they would save when Gardiner eventually is sent to the taxi squad, they would only free up a prorated $1.075MM on the days he’s not on the active roster. But with the Hurricanes looking as if they’ll be a buyer once again at the trade deadline, any extra cap room would go a long way.
Welcome to Philly
@DarkSide830 – Who goes out if Gardiner comes in? Flyers don’t have the space, even with 50% retention. And, does AV really want a turnover machine on the back-end? So, who would get dealt on the Philly side to even out the $? If Gostisbehere is not where they need him to be, the Flyers get ~$500K in cap relief by sending him the other way. It just doesn’t seem like either side benefits from the old “change of scenery.” Remember, everyone thought Gardiner would thrive in the smaller market, but even that didn’t help. The Philly media and fans probably wouldn’t welcome him with open arms. If he’s low on confidence, it won’t get better there.
oh obviously, but they’re looking at Goligoski and he has a higher cap hit, so something’s gotta give regardless. let Carolina take some garbo like NAK, idc.
and i wouldnt worry about the media anyway. most of em dont even know we have a hockey team and the ones that do only get on WIP during the overnight shows.
Gardiner did not lie up to expectations last season but sure has stepped up his game this year!
I don’t think anyone will claim him. Hope he makes it back soon.
kings need a Left handed D, am i right?
@dodgerskingsfan – Kings’ LDs – Anderson, Björnfot, Brickley, with MacDermid listed as LD/RD, and they have cap space. Does bringing in Gardiner make L.A. better, and if so, how?
Please, “NOT” back to Toronto!!!
@pricklyone22 – Not even as a bad joke! :)
He’s gonna get hired by Pillsbury. They love turnovers
@Carbuilder77 – His new YouTube channel: Shakin’ and Bakin’ With Jake. Set oven to 400, and burn for 60-65 minutes! :)
Comments here are brutal and would almost be justified based on last years performance. This year Jake has been nothing short of solid for our Canes. Obviously the new Covid divisions have distracted many from what’s happening outside their bubble.
@CanesZiac – Here is part of the reason you’re seeing the tone that you are. His ATOI to this point is the lowest of his career, he is not listed by PuckPedia in the top-six, and has 0G/7A for ho-hum production (at the price point). The positives? He’s a +2, with only 2 PIMs (tied with Slavin). As I stated above, most of the talking heads (analysts/insiders) believed that getting away from the cauldron of the GTA would help him relax and play better. No real media or fan pressure, so why not, right? For some reason, though, it isn’t panning out that way. Maybe there isn’t enough pressure? Jake has to figure it out, or he’ll be destined for the European Tour before he wants it.