Many felt defenseman Jake Gardiner would be signed quickly when he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, but that didn't happen. Instead, it wasn't until Friday, September 6th, less than month before the opening of the NHL's regular season, that he finally put pen-to-paper and inked a four-year deal worth $16.2 million. Now comes word that Gardiner could have made more money per season by accepting an offer from the Montreal Canadiens. La Presse reporter Alexandre Pratt believes he knows why Gardiner choose to play in the US.

In his article, Pratt states the Habs offered Gardiner $5.25 million per season for three years, one year less than the contract with Carolina, but over $1 million more per year. The first thing that jumps out is the difference in tax rates between Montreal and Carolina, but the bottom line is Gardiner still would have made more per season with the Canadiens. Pratt also believe Gardiner's playing time would have been very similar with either team (top-four D position) and both the Habs and Hurricanes are fairly young teams that seem to be on their way up when it comes to where they'll finish at the end of the season.

So, what's the real reason Gardiner refused the Habs' offer? Pratt believes Gardiner was tired of being the "punching bag" and the "scapegoat" in the Canadian hockey market, and signing with Carolina will give him "peace-of-mind." Pratt points to a game last January against the Colorado Avalanche, where Gardiner was out-muscled for the puck by Colorado's Carl Soderberg. The Avalanche scored on the play, going on to win the game 6-3. Gardiner was relentlessly booed by Toronto fans during the final period of the game. It was so bad that teammates Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner came to his defense in post-game interviews, while Gardiner himself seemed pretty down about it in an interview with TSN.

Then there was game seven against Boston during last season's playoffs. Toronto lost, and again, it seemed like Gardiner became the scapegoat to the Maple Leafs' failure to defeat the Bruins in a post-season series once again. So much so that it seemed clear to most immediately following the ending of the game that it was Gardiner's last in a Toronto uniform.

Pratt speculates that Gardiner's signing with the Hurricanes for less money was a result of wanting to get away from the rabid Canadian fan-base, and play in an area where the pressure to never make a mistake is less pronounced.

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