Jake Gardiner’s Agent Calls Out the Toronto Maple Leafs

Feb 28, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner (51) looks on from the bench against the Florida Panthers at the Air Canada Centre. The Panthers beat the Maple Leafs 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Last night just after midnight Toronto time, Jake Gardiner‘s agent Ben Hankinson sent out the tweet #FreeJakeGardiner. Currently the tweet has been retweeted over 500 times. With the Toronto Maple Leafs loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night showing the cracks in their defensive system this move was made at an opportune moment.

Gardiner is currently playing for the Toronto Marlies and has been since his two game stint with the Leafs in January. The reasoning behind sending him down then was that he was still recovering from a concussion he sustained while playing for the Marlies during the lockout, but its been two months and Jake’s game has improved so fans are wondering why he’s not back. TSN’s Darren Dreger commented on the tweet saying that it would get a reaction from management but the decision to bring him back ultimately belongs to coach Randy Carlyle. He also said that a swap between Gardiner and Korbinian Holzer seemed likely.

Leaf fans are calling for a move to be made but bringing Jake Gardiner back up to the show isn’t the only option the Leafs have. Mike Komisarek and John-Michael Liles have been sitting in the press box since early February, putting one of them in (let’s face it probably Liles) could also have a positive impact on the Leafs’ defense.

It is unclear at this point what will happen but there is definitely movement on the horizon for the Toronto Maple Leafs.