REV-G Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Just a quick note and question regarding something I read today. This isn't a bash on the player just an observation regarding our team and future. A year ago I think a number of us were wanting, hoping that we could sign Jake Gardner to a long term contract. But I read today that he was a healthy scratch and is Carolina's 7th defenceman. For those who maybe follow Carolina closer than I do, has he been injured or has something happened to him or has he just played himself into that #7 position? Kind of shocking, in spite of his defensive gaffs at time, that a guy who had a lot of attention as a free agent and signed for pretty decent money and if I remember was in Toronto's top 4, that Carolina has him as a healthy scratch. If he's played himself into that spot then we should be really glad that he took less money than we offered and signed with them. That would have been very disappointing and someone would have had great criticism heaped on them for that signing. Was it Sam Pollock who coined that phrase, "The best deal is sometimes the one you don't make"? But perhaps there is another reason. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Gardiner missed 14 games and played 3rd pairing minutes ... so don't think it is a surprise ... reportedly he didn't consider Habs because of the pressure of playing in Montreal ... maybe that should have been a clue for the Canes ... hard to count on and expect much from players looking for the easy route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 All I know is that I never wanted Gardiner and have always been completely fine that we didn’t sign him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumpano21 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 I think Alzner would have liked the comraderie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 4:18 PM, xXx..CK..xXx said: All I know is that I never wanted Gardiner and have always been completely fine that we didn’t sign him. Agreed 100%. Thx for making my post easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Ryder Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 True, Sergachev would nicely complete our top 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 53 minutes ago, Easy Ryder said: True, Sergachev would nicely complete our top 4. yes, never liked that deal. Thought Drouin was proving me wrong for a stretch there a while back, but it was short-lived and the rarity it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Imagine Sergachev in top 4 and Kulak on bottom pairing and being able to roll three defensive pairings reliably with a mix of defensive and two way players on each. Could be solid. Sergachev - Weber Chiarot - Petry Meet/Kulak - Fleury/Juhlsen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Kulak is better than Chiarot at even strength and its not particularly close. Kulak - Petry is the number 1 defensive pair in the entire NHL over the last two seasons in expected goals percentage. xGF%. The Kulak - Petry pair has far exceeded when Chiarot played with Petry. The Kulak - Weber pair has also been better than the Chiarot - Weber pair. People keep misidentifying who the third best defenceman on this team is.... its not Chiarot, it's Kulak. ... "the Trident" should be Weber, Petry and Kulak. Don't get me wrong, I like Chiarot. But for some reason, Kulak just doesn't get the respect he deserves, both from Habs fans and around the league. The guy is a legit top 4 defender and would be on nearly every team in the league. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Yes, Kulak belongs. We should rename the Trident to the Pitchfork! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IN THE HEARTS OF MEN Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Commandant said: Kulak is better than Chiarot at even strength and its not particularly close. Kulak - Petry is the number 1 defensive pair in the entire NHL over the last two seasons in expected goals percentage. xGF%. The Kulak - Petry pair has far exceeded when Chiarot played with Petry. The Kulak - Weber pair has also been better than the Chiarot - Weber pair. People keep misidentifying who the third best defenceman on this team is.... its not Chiarot, it's Kulak. ... "the Trident" should be Weber, Petry and Kulak. Don't get me wrong, I like Chiarot. But for some reason, Kulak just doesn't get the respect he deserves, both from Habs fans and around the league. The guy is a legit top 4 defender and would be on nearly every team in the league. kulak seems to play better when the pace his set high... or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 21 minutes ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said: kulak seems to play better when the pace his set high... or is it just me? Yes, his skating is excellent, so the quicker the game, the more he can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meller93 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 2 hours ago, tomh009 said: Yes, Kulak belongs. We should rename the Trident to the Pitchfork! I had the exact same thought last game lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Yeah, I was among the people who wanted Gardiner given our lack of depth on the left side, and I'm certainly glad that he didn't even consider Montreal. On the surface it seemed like Carolina loaded up on D with Skjei and Vatanen because they had injuries, but it was also because Gardiner was playing himself right out of the lineup. I know +/- is a flawed stat, but he was a -24 this year. His next closest teammate was -7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Fanpuck33 said: Yeah, I was among the people who wanted Gardiner I just rememeber Leaf fans booing Gardiner off the ice...in Florida. So i wasnt real keen on signing him, but also thought he could help the left side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 19 minutes ago, DON said: I just rememeber Leaf fans booing Gardiner off the ice...in Florida. So i wasnt real keen on signing him, but also thought he could help the left side. Every fanbase has a "whipping boy" and I believe Gardner was it with Leafs ... but MB certainly dodged a bullet on that one ... if he has wilted so badly in carolina I can't imagine what would have happened under the Montreal Media Microscope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 I'm certainly glad the Habs didnt sign Gardiner. I've heard a ton of Leaf fans call him Jake the Mistake. 🤣 On 8/18/2020 at 10:50 AM, Commandant said: Kulak is better than Chiarot at even strength and its not particularly close. Kulak - Petry is the number 1 defensive pair in the entire NHL over the last two seasons in expected goals percentage. xGF%. The Kulak - Petry pair has far exceeded when Chiarot played with Petry. The Kulak - Weber pair has also been better than the Chiarot - Weber pair. People keep misidentifying who the third best defenceman on this team is.... its not Chiarot, it's Kulak. ... "the Trident" should be Weber, Petry and Kulak. Don't get me wrong, I like Chiarot. But for some reason, Kulak just doesn't get the respect he deserves, both from Habs fans and around the league. The guy is a legit top 4 defender and would be on nearly every team in the league. The funny thing for me is since the Habs lost Markov and Emelin I am unable to really rank the Habs dmen with any certainty. For me, #1 is Weber, #2 is Petry, then #3 on is a coin toss. Kulak is likely #3, and Chiarot #4, but in other seasons it always seemed to be a lot easier to properly rank them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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