Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jake Gardiner

Jake Gardiner Suffers Setback; Not At Hurricanes Camp

at CDT | by 3 Comments

When Jake Gardiner declared himself healthy enough to resume his NHL career, eyebrows raised all around the league. The defenseman had only played in 26 games during the 2020-21 season and missed all of 2021-22 because of chronic injuries, including a back issue that went back several years. Many had assumed that his career was over after missing the full season, but things were progressing like he would return to the Carolina Hurricanes this season.

Unfortunately, Gardiner has experienced a setback according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour and is not in training camp. Team reporter Walt Ruff passes on the full comment from the head coach:

He had a setback and just is not healthy enough to do it. Unfortunately he has had a lot of surgeries and we know he’s been nicked up. 

If this is it for the 32-year-old defenseman, it is a disappointing end to a career that was cut short right in his prime. During the 2017-18 season, the last time Gardiner played all 82 games, he racked up 52 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs, 16th among all NHL defensemen. He was a real difference-maker at even-strength, where he tied for sixth among defensemen with 37 points.

As back issues started to take their toll, he played just 62 games the following season. His first season in Carolina was relatively healthy but it was cut short by COVID, and then things deteriorated quickly. Gardiner’s contract with the Hurricanes is set to expire after this season.

If it’s the end, the 2008 first-round pick will finish with 645 regular season games and 277 points. The Hurricanes will be able to move his contract to long-term injured reserve if he is unable to play this season.

Injury Updates: Gardiner, Silfverberg, Farabee

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner was not on their training camp invite list that was released earlier today.  As Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer points out (Twitter link), the veteran is likely to land back on LTIR this season.  Gardiner spent all of 2021-22 on there after undergoing back and hip surgeries but GM Don Waddell had indicated this summer that the 32-year-old had recovered and was expected to be ready for the season so it appears there has been a setback of some sort.  Gardiner is entering the final year of his contract that carries a $4.05MM AAV and he’ll join newly-acquired winger Max Pacioretty as players heading for LTIR to start the season which means that they’ll have plenty of short-term wiggle room available from a cap perspective.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Typically, players aren’t activated off injured reserve in the days leading up to training camp but CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Ducks activated winger Jakob Silfverberg from IR today. He was placed there back in early March with a blood clot in his leg which ended his season early but this activation suggests that he’ll be good to go for training camp.  Silfverberg had a run of six straight seasons with a point total between 39 and 43 but has slowed down the last couple of years and is coming off a 21-point performance last season in 53 games.
  • It has been a tough stretch on the injury front for the Flyers with Sean Couturier out to start the season and Ryan Ellis not ready to return either. However, it appears they’ll have winger Joel Farabee available on opening night or soon after, notes Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now.  The 22-year-old underwent disc replacement surgery back in June with the procedure carrying a recovery period of three to four months so it appears he’s on track.  Farabee had 17 goals and 17 assists in 63 games last season and could be in line for a bigger role once he’s ready to return.

Metropolitan Notes: Gardiner, Fedotov, Backstrom

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Carolina’s second buyout window opened up yesterday but while some wondered if they might take advantage of that to buy out the final year of Jake Gardiner’s deal, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that they won’t do so.  Gardiner missed all of last season due to hip and back surgeries and cleared waivers the year before that so the opportunity to clear a big chunk of his $4.05MM AAV off their books had to be considered.  However, with Max Pacioretty set to miss at least the first half of the season due to a torn Achilles, the need to free up short-term cap space isn’t as high so Gardiner will now try to earn a spot at the back of Carolina’s roster next month in training camp.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s hearing in Russia has been pushed to September 20th, relays Sam Carchidi of Philadelphia Hockey Now. He was arrested last month on suspicion of evading military service.  The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia back in May with the expectation that he’d become their second goaltender following a dominant playoff performance with CSKA Moscow of the KHL but now, they won’t have him when training camp gets underway next month.
  • There’s no firm timeline for when (or if) Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom might return next season after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery but Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic feels (subscription link) that the team is planning to be without the 34-year-old for the entire regular season with a small hope that he could be ready in the playoffs. Backstrom has three years left on his deal with a $9.2MM AAV and will clearly be eligible to go on LTIR.  However, if the Caps feel that he won’t return at all during the season, that would give them more flexibility to add to their roster as they wouldn’t have to have enough freed up to accommodate his return.  Speculatively, this feels like a situation where they’ll want to wait until closer to midseason and then reassess things heading towards the trade deadline.

Jake Gardiner Cleared To Return To Hockey

at CDT | by 14 Comments

It’s easy to forget that Jake Gardiner is still under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes for next season, given how long it has been since he was a regular in the lineup. The 31-year-old hasn’t played in more than a calendar year, last suiting up for just nine minutes in a playoff game against the Nashville Predators in May 2021. Even then he lasted just 11 shifts, not exactly the way any player wants to end their career.

Since then, Gardiner has undergone hip and back surgeries, procedures that suggested to many that his playing career was over. Not so fast, according to general manager Don Waddell, who explained today at his end-of-year availability that the team has just recently received notice that Gardiner is now fully cleared to play again.

Signed to a four-year, $16.2MM contract in 2019, the smooth-skating defenseman will carry a cap hit of $4.05MM next season for the Hurricanes. If he’s completely healthy, that complicates things quite a bit, as for the last year they have been operating with him on long-term injured reserve. There’s no telling what kind of player Gardiner will be if he does return, especially given how those back problems had gone back several years to his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The problem now is that the Hurricanes already have three other defensemen making at least $4MM, Tony DeAngelo waiting for a raise through arbitration, and several top free agents like Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter to potentially re-sign. Gardiner also does hold a seven-team no-trade clause, which could make a deal even more difficult if the team tried to go down that route.

Technically, if he is now fully healthy, the Hurricanes could buy Gardiner out this summer. That would result in a cap hit of $1.083MM in 2022-23 and $1.483MM in 2023-24, though that may be more palatable than rolling the dice with his post-surgery performance.

At his peak, the 6’2″ Gardiner was one of the most effective puck-moving defensemen in the league, hitting a career-high of 52 points in 2017-18 with the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, his play also came with regular giveaways that always seemed to happen at the most inopportune times, gaffes that often contributed to early playoff exits.

Now, if he’s completely healthy and ready to resume his career, the Hurricanes will have to make some tough decisions on how to deal with his cap hit as they prepare for next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Several Players Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

This afternoon, teams were required to submit a cap-compliant opening day roster to the league. This roster is not fixed and can be changed before a team actually takes the ice for their first game, meaning many players who would otherwise be considered on the team were included in a loan to the minor leagues. That “paper transaction” will not have the player actually report to the minor leagues, as he’ll be back up with the NHL team quickly.

The merit behind these transactions in many cases is to maximize long-term injured reserve relief. If necessary, a team attempts to get as close to the $81.5MM salary cap upper limit before placing a player on LTIR in order to receive the maximum benefit. This year has quite a few players hit the board already, which means they will miss a minimum of ten games and 24 days, though some are expected to miss the entire season.

Here are the players who have been placed on LTIR so far today:

D Jake Gardiner (CAR)
D Caleb Jones (CHI)
G Ben Bishop (DAL)
D Oscar Klefbom (EDM)
G Alex Stalock (EDM)
G Carey Price (MTL)
F Gemel Smith (TBL)
D Brent Seabrook (TBL)
F Bryan Little (WPG)

This post will be updated as more season-opening rosters are announced.

Snapshots: Kotkaniemi, Hurricanes Cap, Quenneville

at CDT | by 12 Comments

It’s been an unusually busy weekend in the hockey world, with yesterday’s successful Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet and Christian Dvorak trade dominating headlines. Both of those moves have some corresponding implications that reach into today’s news cycle, including Kotkaniemi’s future as a playing member of the Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Don Waddell stated in his press conference this morning that the team’s plan is to start Kotkaniemi at the left-wing position in Carolina. It won’t be anything completely new for the 21-year-old Finnish forward, who’s played wing sparingly at times during his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens, but was mostly used as a bottom-six center there. Given his still-tantalizing potential and $6.1MM price tag, it’s likely that Kotkaniemi could slot in the top six along with Vincent Trocheck, but it’s all speculation until training camp begins. What’s for certain is that Carolina aims to give Kotkaniemi more opportunity and a better supporting cast than he’s had previously, hoping to get the most out of Kotkaniemi for the gamble of a price.

Some more fallout from the Kotkaniemi offer sheet, as well as a note about a Seattle Kraken expansion draft selection:

  • With today’s news of Jake Gardiner’s back and hip surgery and pending long-term injured reserve placement, the Carolina Hurricanes now have some salary-cap maneuvering to do. PuckPedia notes that Carolina will be able to exceed the cap by $4.05MM, the average annual value of Gardiner’s contract. The team currently sits at $1.5MM over the cap after the Kotkaniemi deal became official. PuckPedia also surmises that Carolina won’t have to go through too much trouble in order to maximize their salary cap relief, only sending two players down to be as close to the Upper Limit as possible before placing Gardiner on LTIR. Martin Necas remains the only non-waiver-eligible player on the roster and considering his role on the team, it’s unlikely he’ll be involved in a paper transaction. Steven Lorentz and Brendan Smith seem likely candidates to be waived and sent down in order to make the team cap-compliant.
  • The ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League announced today that they’ve signed former NHL forward John Quenneville to a contract after signing him to a professional tryout last month. Quenneville is one of a few Seattle Kraken expansion draft selections to not remain with the team into the 2021-22 season. Their selection from the Chicago Blackhawks, Quenneville was a pending unrestricted free agent and wasn’t signed by the Kraken. A first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014, the now 25-year-old Quenneville never secured a full-time role in the NHL and will likely see much more opportunity overseas. Quenneville appeared in 42 NHL games between 2016 and 2020, scoring two goals and five points.

Jake Gardiner To Have Hip Surgery

at CDT | by 12 Comments

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner will have back and hip surgery and will be placed on long-term injured reserve, general manager Don Waddell announced today. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the team exceeded the salary cap’s Upper Limit by signing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet.

Gardiner’s career as a Hurricane hasn’t been smooth since signing a four-year, $16.2MM contract in free agency on September 6, 2019. The 31-year-old Minnesota native has played in just 94 games over the past two seasons, missing time due to a combination of injuries and healthy scratches. He’s posted just four goals and 32 points in that time. The timeline of Gardiner’s injury isn’t known at this present moment, but his placement on LTIR confirms that he won’t be ready for the start of the season.

Even when healthy, Gardiner’s been utilized mostly in a third-pairing role, sitting behind Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei on the depth chart. Still a skilled offensive play driver, his all-around game has dipped since arriving in Carolina. Still, with a large hole to fill due to Dougie Hamilton’s departure, Carolina could have used Gardiner’s offensive skills on the blueline.

Carolina presently sits at $1.5MM over the salary cap upper limit of $81.5MM. With Gardiner’s $4.05MM cap hit heading to LTIR, Carolina will have up to $2.55MM in usable cap space to fill while Gardiner is on long-term injured reserve.

All salary cap data via CapFriendly.com.

Jake Gardiner Clears Waivers

at CDT | by 13 Comments

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.

Central Notes: Seabrook, Red Wings, Radulov, Gardiner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Brent Seabrook’s announcement that he doesn’t intend to return to professional hockey has other implications as well, particularly the upcoming expansion draft. Up until now, the team had Seabrook inked in as a player the team had to protect due to his no-movement clause. Now, with Seabrook being moved to LTIR and effectively retiring allows the Chicago Blackhawks some much-needed flexibility, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield.

The team no longer needs to protect Seabrook from the Seattle Kraken and expansion draft, which will allow them to retain an extra defenseman they weren’t originally expecting to be able to keep. Assuming the team goes with the 7-3-1 format, the team can now protect Duncan Keith and Connor Murphy like they had originally planned. However, now the team has the option of protecting Nikita Zadorov or Calvin de Haan, with Zadorov being the more likely of the two to be protected. de Haan and his $4.55 AAV are more likely to be traded at the trade deadline or exposed to Seattle.

  • The Detroit Red Wings continue to be without top-line winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who has been out since Jan. 30th with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jeff Blashill said that the forward still isn’t able to practice, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The news is a little more promising for Dylan Larkin, who has missed four games with an upper-body injury. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Larkin could be ready to go on Tuesday, but Blashill said much of that determination will be based on practice Sunday and Monday. For now, he’s considered day-to-day.
  • Despite taking the ice Saturday in Dallas’ morning skate, forward Alexander Radulov is not expected to return to the team for another week, according to Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks. Radulov has been out with a lower-body injury and has not played since Feb. 4. Radulov has appeared in only eight games for the Stars this season, but does have an impressive three goals and 11 points.
  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith reports that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner is ready to return to the lineup Sunday. The 30-year-old has been out since Feb. 24 and has missed five games with an upper-body injury. Gardiner has seven assists in 16 games this season and could return to his role on the power-play as well.

Snapshots: Canucks, Rutta, Lehner, Gardiner

at CDT | by 2 Comments

One of the intriguing pending storylines for the Canucks is what will happen with pending RFAs Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.  As part of his press conference on Friday, GM Jim Benning told reporters, including Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, that although the pair are eligible to be extended now, they’ve decided to delay those discussions until after next month’s trade deadline.  Both youngsters are now represented by CAA’s Pat Brisson and the types of deals they sign will greatly affect Vancouver’s spending plans this offseason.  If both were to sign long-term contracts, they’d be extremely limited in trying to make any other moves but if one or both have to settle for bridge deals, they’d have some short-term wiggle room.  While they’re delaying those talks for now, Benning would undoubtedly like to have an idea of the cost to re-sign those two before getting too deep into their summer plans.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). The veteran had played in every game for Tampa Bay until last night, notching six assists in 21 contests. The team doesn’t have enough room in LTIR to make another recall although they do still have six healthy blueliners on the roster for the time being.
  • While the Golden Knights have been without Robin Lehner for the last ten games, head coach Peter DeBoer told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that while the netminder isn’t currently on the road trip, he’s “very close to reintegrating in with the group”. That suggests that the 29-year-old is nearing a return which would be a welcome addition for a Vegas team that has had to use Marc-Andre Fleury a bit more than they’d have liked in recent weeks although the veteran has played quite well.
  • Carolina defenseman Jake Gardiner has declared himself ready to return from the upper-body injury that has caused him to miss five straight games, notes Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team site (Twitter link). Officially, he is listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Florida.  Gardiner has seven assists in 16 contests this season but is averaging a career-low 15:55 per game.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top