Jake Gardiner is healthy and now the Hurricanes have a decision to make

After missing the entire 2022 season after receiving hip and back surgery, Jake Gardiner has been medically cleared to return to the game of hockey. With the 31-year-old now an option again after he was kept out all season, the Hurricanes organization has to decide what they are going to do with the former 17th overall pick by the Anaheim Ducks. Do they leave him on the roster? Do they move him to clear cap space?

Gardiner has been one of the forgotten Hurricanes this season, and that makes a lot of sense. He spent the year rehabbing in his native Minnesota so he’s been away from the team and you know what they say. Out of sight, out of mind, and that has been relatively true with Gardiner. He’s very much been an afterthought and on the periphery after his surgery, but with the American blueliner healthy again, there are questions that need answering.

Carolina was only able to remain cap compliant this season due to Gardiner’s $4.05 million cap his being able to be stashed onto the long-term injured reserve. Hence, the Hurricanes had a few hoops to jump through when they landed Max Domi at the trade deadline. They will not have that problem next year assuming no one needs major recovery time for a long-term injury.

Is Jake’s deal movable? Yes, but I’m going to assume it will require some incentivizing. There is not going to be anyone willing to randomly eat the last year of his deal, and they’re likely going to be one of the seven teams Gardiner has the right to refuse a trade to due to his modified no-trade clause of M-NTC. This means you’re looking at either buying out the powerplay quarterback or keeping him on the roster.

If you keep Jake Gardiner around, you’re going to run into cap issues, but there’s also the issue of where he slots in. He makes a lot to be deployed as a third-pairing defenseman. He could be a major factor on the Canes’ second powerplay unit as a very talented puck-moving defenseman, but there is no certainty that Gardiner will be the same caliber of player he was before he went under the knife.

According to CapFriendly, the buyout for Jake Gardiner would carry a $1,083,334 cap hit in the first year of his buyout and a $1,483,334 in the second year. While you save money, is it worth taking on another year of dead cap when you could just get to the end of this season and whether he plays well or not, you can decide if you want to move on or continue moving forward with Jake Gardiner?

I don’t know what will happen with Gardiner, but he’s going to be an important piece when we look at what plans the management group for this team has in mind for the direction of the organization over the course of this summer. He’s going to be the litmus test. Do they keep him and take the aggressive approach in the future, or do they go for the instant savings now and try to win and win now?

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: What do you think the team should do with Jake Gardiner?