It is probably wishful thinking on the part of GMs rather than reality, but one comment from a team executive in the wake of Jake Gardiner’s contract in Carolina last week certainly made me think.



Does the deal help re-set the UFA defenseman market in any way?



Gardiner, who spent the whole summer on the UFA market, signed a four-year deal for just over $4-million a year AAV and was certainly a bargain for Carolina for a quality, top-four, puck-moving D.



Six months ago, I would have pegged Gardiner’s deal somewhere in the $6-million a season range on the open market. And that would have been a conservative estimation.



It was a result of some market circumstances playing out rather unfortunately for Gardiner rather than perhaps a true reflection of the worth of such a player, although his back injury last season played a factor, too.



The reality is that he could have got more than $5 million on a one-year deal somewhere else as...