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Jake Gardiner made a surprise reunion with Leafs last night

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
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Nov 6 2024, 7:18 pm
Jake Gardiner made a surprise reunion with Leafs last night

Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jake Gardiner never officially called it quits from the NHL, but he appears to have officially moved on to a new phase of his hockey journey.

On Tuesday night, Gardiner was at Scotiabank Arena and was photographed wearing a team alumni jacket alongside longtime Leafs grinder Darcy Tucker.

Gardiner last played in the 2021 NHL playoffs with the Carolina Hurricanes, suiting up for just one contest where he saw 9:07 of action.

Debilitating back injuries caused him to be on injured reserve during much of his time with the Hurricanes, who he signed with in 2018 following eight seasons in Toronto. He suited up for 551 regular season games over his time with the team, while also suiting up for 26 playoff games with the team.

Unfortunately for Gardiner, he’ll likely be remembered more for his roles in four first-round playoff series losses, three times falling to the Boston Bruins in separate series while also losing to the Washington Capitals in 2017.

Given that he’s younger than three current Leafs — Chris Tanev, Ryan Reaves, and Max Pacioretty — it may seem a little out of place to see a player like Gardiner in an alumni get-up. But even if his formal retirement papers were never sent in, it seems like as much of an acknowledgement as any that his NHL career has come to an end.

He’s still technically part of the league’s free agent pool, though it seems unlikely at this point he’ll land another contract given his lingering health issues.

Gardiner isn’t the most active social media poster and did not appear to share news of his trip to Toronto on his Instagram page.

In any case, we’ll be keeping an eye on whether Gardiner ever lands any formal roles in hockey or otherwise following his NHL career.

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