Jake Gardiner might have had his best game of the season Friday night in Anaheim, at least in the estimation of Leafs coach Mike Babcock.



Gardiner played exactly 23 minutes against the team that drafted him a decade ago, fired a team-high eight attempts at John Gibson, robbed Ondrej Kase of at least one goal, blocked three shots and dipped deep into the offensive zone to set up Patrick Marleau’s 539th career marker.



The Leafs won about 60 per cent of the shot attempts against the Ducks when he was on the ice.



“Obviously, he was feeling real good out there,” Babcock said of Gardiner, headed for unrestricted free agency for the first time next summer. “He had speed, he was skating, he was moving the puck, he was physical, he was determined. He’s a good player.”



Gardiner obviously isn’t the most intriguing Leaf with a lingering contract question (or even the second or third), but his case will be...