Toronto Maple Leafs: End of Year Report Cards for Defense

Apr 21, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jake Gardiner (A)

This is a tricky one for me.

I came into the season disliking Gardiner immensely.

I’ve come out of the season liking him, but still airing on the side of caution concerning him.

He’s good with the puck, don’t get me wrong.

Really good.

But, when he has the puck, which is often, I find myself on the edge of my seat, sometimes for good reasons and sometimes for bad reasons.

He can make stupid and also elite plays.

I think when factoring what unfolded this season, it’s safe to say the good outweighs the bad considering how many minutes he logged.

He stepped up his game a lot and I know he still bobbled the puck sometimes, but still, he’s just a machine.

In 82 games played, he notched nine goals and 43 points, a personal best by a mile.

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