Gardiner feeling confident in his game Maple Leafs defenceman has been durable and productive in a season that is shaping up to be one of the best, if not the best, of his seven-year career, Kristen Shilton writes.

Kristen Shilton TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO – It’s become a running joke in the Maple Leafs’ dressing room that when defenceman Jake Gardiner is on the ice, even his teammates aren’t sure what he’s doing on certain plays.

It turns out there are some things Gardiner himself can’t even explain, starting with the how and why of this season shaping up to be one of the best, if not the best, of his seven-year career.

“That’s a tough question. I think when you’re playing well you’re not really sure [why] I guess,” said Gardiner after the Leafs’ optional morning skate on Thursday. “You’re confident, and when the team is playing well, that helps. As the year goes on, you feel better and better. You always think you can get better, but I’m feeling confident, feeling good.”

Gardiner’s high-risk, high-reward style has made him a polarizing player since he arrived in Toronto via trade from Anaheim in 2011. He’s had few peers in his Leafs’ tenure when it comes to generating offence from the blueline, but Gardiner is also prone to defensive-zone lapses that lead to high-danger scoring chances.

Gardiner has emerged this season as one of the Leafs’ most relied-upon defensive pillars. While Nikita Zaitsev sat out 17 games with a broken foot and Morgan Rielly was sidelined for six with an elbow issue, Gardiner’s role has continued expanding to include more five-on-five and power-play time.

Through 62 games, Gardiner leads all Leafs’ defencemen with 37 points (four goals, 33 assists) and is essentially tied with Zaitsev for most minutes played per game (22:34). Gardiner has also been the most durable of the Leafs’ regular blueliners, missing part of only one game with what head coach Mike Babcock described as “spasms.”

“All I know is that since we’ve given him some structure to play with, he plays within the structure and he still can make plays,” said Babcock. “Whether it be a long pass, a short pass, a good pass, a shot through, he can make plays and sees the play and makes the play. A lot of guys don’t see those plays but he has that ability to do that.”

Undoubtedly aided by the Leafs’ infusion of elite scoring threats like William Nylander and Auston Matthews, Gardiner has showcased an uncanny capability to feather perfect two-line passes through traffic and hit those forwards’ tape in stride.

Gardiner is now just six points shy of his single-season career-high, and on Tuesday he became the fifth Leafs’ defenceman to ever hit 200 career points in the first seven seasons of his career.

His play has also generated an appreciation for his game that his longest-tenured teammates consider well overdue.

“It’s funny, even years ago he was doing a lot of the same stuff but he’s just finally getting recognition for it now,” said James van Riemsdyk, who's in his sixth season with the Leafs. “That confidence continues to grow and you become more sure of yourself and the different things you can try and hopefully expand your threshold for different plays you can do. He seems to be as confident as ever out there, and when he’s confident like that, it’s really fun to play with him.”

The Leafs head into Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders having won 11 of their last 13 games, a stretch over which Gardiner was a minus player in just three contests while tallying 12 points (one goal, 11 assists).

Still, the defensive side of his game continues to be a work in progress. Gardiner has been on the ice for more shots against than any other Leaf (619) even with the second-highest percentage of offensive-zone faceoffs among defencemen (47.97 per cent), and he’s committed a team-high 83 giveaways.

Despite those apparent ups and downs in his season, Babcock continues to utilize Gardiner all over the ice, in every situation. He's currently averaging 2:12 per game quarterbacking the Leafs’ second power-play unit and can also shoulder short-handed minutes when the need arises.

“I just think Jake is a good player,” said Babcock. “I don’t know if there’s [been] that much fluctuation. Sometimes it’s just getting your [right] pairs together, things like that. We just think he’s really intelligent, moves the puck real well, plays with good players, gets them the puck and they like playing with him."

Gardiner has every intention of keeping it that way. At 27, the Minnesota native is one of the elder statesmen in the Leafs’ room, but like most veterans, he’s been invigorated by the team’s youth movement. He’s drawing inspiration from it not only for the 20-game run towards the postseason, but for potentially many more years beyond that.

“You’re always [striving] to be comfortable and confident. From year to year there’s always younger guys coming in the league and pushing you, which I think is a good thing,” Gardiner said. “It makes you work harder in the summers and prepare for camp. I’m just going to keep doing that.”

Maple Leafs projected lineup vs. Islanders:

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander

Marleau-Kadri-Marner

van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown

Komarov-Moore-Kapanen

Rielly-Hainsey

Gardiner-Zaitsev

Dermott-Carrick

Andersen starts

McElhinney

* Babcock mentioned a sick player who may not be available vs. New York; if a forward above slots out, Matt Martin is projected to slot in.