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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott were taken out by injuries in the same week in late February. If all goes according to plan, the defencemen will be back patrolling the Maple Leafs’ blueline within a few days of one another, too.

Dermott (shoulder) is a step ahead of Gardiner (back), participating in his first full practice on Thursday after being cleared for contact last weekend. Assuming there are no setbacks, he’ll play on Saturday in Ottawa after missing 14 games.

Gardiner, who’s been sidelined 15 games and counting, skated in his first team practice since the injury on Thursday as well, but was in a red no-contact sweater. He’s still awaiting word on just how far behind Dermott he’ll be, with an eye on playing in at least one game before the regular season ends next Saturday.

“I think just timing-wise, getting back into the groove of things, I think that would be huge if I could,” Gardiner said of returning before playoffs. “I can’t tell you [exactly when]; it’s all process, just trying to take it day by day. Kind of see how it goes, and hopefully I can keep progressing.”

Head coach Mike Babcock said Gardiner told him after Thursday’s session he was “feeling good,” and that “ideally” he’ll be playing again within the week. Gardiner hadn’t addressed the injury before Thursday, but was cagey on the details and whether he considered surgery.

“I don’t know how much I want to say about all that, but I’m improving, that’s the important part,” he said. “I don’t want to get too much into [when I got hurt], but we felt [shutting me down] was the right thing to do at the time so that’s what we’ve decided.”

Before missing more than a month, Gardiner was plus-17 with 29 points in 60 games while averaging 21:12 time on ice per game. Back spasms earlier in the season had cost him two games before the All-Star Break, but Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas said this month this second back ailment was different.

It became clear that Gardiner wasn’t up to his usual standard when the last game he skated in, on Feb. 25 against Buffalo, produced his season-low in ice time (16:30). He was ruled out week-to-week two days later, and Gardiner admitted at times he worried he might not play again this season.

“You have stuff going through your head all the time but it’s been getting better, so that’s a positive,” he said.

Gardiner skated with the Leafs’ skill coaches Mike Ellis and Darryl Belfry throughout his rehab, ramping up those workouts in the last week or so and often doing them with Dermott. With their returns nearing, there’s no hiding just how critical they’ll be for the Leafs’ struggling blueline.

In the four weeks since either defenceman played, the Leafs have given up the second-most goals in the NHL (allowing 3.85 per game). Prior to that, the Leafs were 22nd in the NHL in goals against.

In order to get anywhere in the postseason this year, starting with their probable first-round matchup against the Boston Bruins, the Leafs desperately need their best hands back on deck.

“We definitely need to be better if we want to win in the playoffs, and these last few games we’ll find our groove back and get going,” said Gardiner. “You want to be flying going into the playoffs, so it’s never easy to be hurt, especially at a time like this when you have such a good team. I want to be a part of it.”

That sentiment has been echoed throughout the Leafs room, especially among the blueliners trying to hold the team together.

“Jake does a lot and Dermy as well,” said Morgan Rielly. “They both skate, they both join the rush, they don’t make a lot of mistakes. And then just experience. Jake’s played in the league a long time, he knows the ins and outs and he’s just a good player. Not having him in the lineup hurts, and he’s been working hard to get back.”

While Gardiner’s immediate focus is on an impending return to the Leafs’ lineup, the new father also has to keep one eye on the future. In four months’ time, Gardiner will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. When that July 1 date rolls around he can’t afford lingering questions about his health.

But there is still more Gardiner hopes to accomplish with the Leafs before he decides what's next, starting with postseason. It was a year ago that Gardiner finished at minus-5 in Game 7 of Toronto’s first-round loss against Boston, drawing the ire of many Leafs fans. 

Now the team’s hopes of making a run hinge on how well they can improve defensively. 

“GMs I’ve had over the years have said, ‘You should always get a guy hurt about two weeks before you’re thinking of trading him and then find out what the value is he has to his team and sometimes you find out you love him a little bit more than you thought,’” said Babcock. “We know [Gardiner and Dermott] are good players and play good defence, but they do good things offensively on the blueline. But you have to be able to keep it out of your net…and those guys are on the plus side of the ledger and do a good job.”