Toronto Maple Leafs: How the Ryan Ellis extension affects Jake Gardiner

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Ryan Ellis’ eight-year extension with the Nashville Predators could help set the terms for any extension talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jake Gardiner.

With Jake Gardiner entering the final season of the five-year contract he signed in 2014, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a decision to make. He is the most polarizing player on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gardiner is an analytics darling, but can also be incredibly frustrating.

One shift, he makes an effortless pass from the Leafs zone, sending a player on a breakaway. Meanwhile, on the next shift, Gardiner will throw a blind pass right to the other team, giving up a high-end scoring chance.

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Despite his flaws, he is a really good player. Gardiner’s good plays tend to far outweigh the bad ones and his play has made his contract a major bargain. The production he provides at a cap hit of $4.05 million is one of the few good things Dave Nonis did in his time as general manager. Coming off a 52 point season, Gardiner is in a prime position to hit it big in free agency next summer.

The Nashville Predators gave the hockey world some news earlier this summer by signing defenseman Ryan Ellis to an eight-year extension. This contract will take him into his mid 30’s, so there is some risk given his size and injury history. However, a $6.25 million cap hit is a reasonable price.

With Gardiner and Ellis both being puck-moving defensemen and being of a similar age, is the Ellis extension good or bad news for the Maple Leafs? The assumption is that Gardiner won’t be resigned, but it is clear general manager Kyle Dubas values what he brings, so the Ellis contract is a good comparison as to what it would likely cost to re-sign him.

Let’s compare the two players because they have a ton of similarities and some notable differences.

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