Rejoint: mai 2017
Messages: 938
Mentions "j'aime": 253
Don't want to be mean, but my answer to the question would be: Yes, it's crazy.
I may be in the minority seeing it: Jake Gardiner is a high quality top pairing defenseman. McDonagh may have a slight edge over him (ignoring his history of injuries), but certainly not as to command a quality prospect, a first round pick and another pick in surplus. Why would the Leafs consider doing that, when they can just keep the 1st round pick and already have someone reliable filling the same spot?!
Gardiner is an outstanding skater who can move the puck well, has offensive flair, and who is in the top 15 for points among defensemen in the NHL! And, he is reliable in his zone. Babcock is not the kind of coach to trust easily, and he used Gardiner 53% of the time on defensive zone faceoffs this year. Moreover, Gardiner doesn't miss a lot of games.
A team blessed with LHDs such as Rielly-Gardiner-Dermott should be looking to keep it intact.
If moving for a defenseman, it should be to reduce the workload of Hainsey and balance things out on the right. RHDs like Trouba, Faulk, Tanev or the like.