Gardiner no fan of rumours

Like the rest of his teammates, rookie defenceman Jake Gardiner has heard his name associated with potential trade talk, quite a compliment for a player who a year ago was playing NCAA hockey for the University of Wisconsin. Not that he wants to go anywhere, but you can be sure any rival general manager that Maple Leafs boss Brian Burke talks to as the trade deadline approaches has Gardiner on his wish list.

“Any time your name comes up in a rumour, you don’t like it,” Gardiner said Monday following practice at the MasterCard Centre. “Everything is a rumour. I don’t know what’s true and what’s not.”


Gardiner already has been traded once — albeit while still in college — when he was sent here last year along with Joffrey Lupul in the deal that shipped defenceman Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim.

One of the other Leafs players most often mentioned in trade talks, fellow defenceman Luke Schenn, seems to be handling the hype well.

“It’s talked about every day and asked about every day, it’s part of playing in Toronto,” Schenn said. “It’s my fourth deadline right now and every one gets more hyped. I think it’s bigger in Canada than Canada Day is. It’s like an annual holiday now.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/20/gardiner-no-fan-of-rumours