MILTON – The chatter percolated furiously for months and then finally on an early July day in the summer of 2012, Luke Schenn was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for James van Riemsdyk. Glenn Hall Jersey . The fifth overall selection in the 2008 draft, Schenns name had bubbled with such intense fervour in trade rumours that then-Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke went so far as to assert that no deal was coming six months before it finally did. "We are not in trade discussions involving Luke Schenn," Burke said wearily before a game against the Buffalo Sabres. "I told Luke thats not a guarantee he wouldnt be traded if something materialized but were not in trade discussions with any team about him right now. We havent offered him to anybody. I dont know where the rumours started, but I told him thats not happening." Like Schenn, Jake Gardiner has heard his name bandied about in trade chatter and figured that one day he might follow his former defence partner out the door of Toronto. He was on tentative footing with the organization or so he figured in light of the incessant discussion of his name in trade talks. "Yeah, there was always thoughts about that – whether Im going to get traded or not," Gardiner told TSN.ca from the teams annual charity golf tournament on Monday. "I just had always heard talk about it." That chatter quieted some last month. With Brendan Shanahan firmly at the helm as the teams new president and change coming in all directions within the organization, the Leafs extended a five-year deal to the recently turned 24-year-old, ending all the speculation while securing the former first-round pick as a piece near the front of the teams future. Having mostly dangled at arms length from the club to that point, the show of faith was unexpected. A restricted free agent, Gardiner expected a shorter deal, perhaps the kind of prove yourself, bridge contract Nazem Kadri had gotten one year earlier. "Just kind of shows they have that faith in me as a player," Gardiner said of the five-year pact, which is worth a total of $20.25 million. That faith had certainly been tested from the point of his arrival in the winter of 2011, be it because of misguided and sometimes poor decision-making or soft defensive play. An undercurrent of impatience at his overall progress seemed to linger as that standout rookie campaign edged further and further into the rearview mirror. He heard his name out there and wondered whether, like Schenn, he would be next to go, whether all the rumours and speculation would finally lead him elsewhere. Another trade deadline came and went this past March and Gardiner remained, but persistence of disconnect between himself and the club simmered (never hotter than March of a year earlier when Gardiner remained a Marlie, much to his and his former agents chagrin). At his season-ending press conference in mid-April, Randy Carlyle spoke to a revealing exit interview with one of his players and while not naming said player explicitly, expressed surprise that a "young defenceman playing a roving style" felt his "leash was short where we believed it was longer" and who he compared himself with in the league, "that was kind of shocking". Gardiner, though, says his relationship with the head coach is fine, nothing more than a hard-edged, old-school type trying to pull out the best from his group. The "leash", he said, was a function of performance, longer with success. "Hes a coach that pushes his players, especially the young guys," Gardiner said of Carlyle, the former spending most of his summer back home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, "He knows we have more to our games and he just wants us to get to that level." "Hopefully I play well," he continued. "Thats pretty much the base of it. If I play well our relationship will be great. Even if I dont hell be pushing me so itll be good either way." Whether Gardiner gets to the level Carlyle expects, the level hes shown capable of hitting and then even exceeding is the looming question. The hopeful signs have been there. The consistency has not. While the team sputtered into another disastrous playoff miss, Gardiner generally excelled down the stretch, looking more like his assertive self while depositing five goals and 14 points in the final 21 games. He also finished as the teams best possession player and leading minute-eater at even-strength. Can he put it all together? The Leafs are gambling that he can. "Both them and I are excited for the next five years." Henri Jokiharju Jersey . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. Brent Seabrook Jersey .com) - The Carolina Panthers won for the first time in seven games last week, were without Cam Newton due to a car accident this week, but somehow sit atop the much-maligned NFC South. http://www.officialblackhawksfanstore.com/authentic-patrick-kane-blackhawks-jersey/ . PAUL, Minn.ANAHEIM, Calif. - Dany Heatley has been assigned to the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate in Norfolk after the veteran NHL goal-scorer cleared waivers.The Ducks announced the move Tuesday.Heatley hasnt clicked with the NHL-leading Ducks, who signed him to a one-year, $1 million deal in the off-season.Heatley is scoreless in six games with a minus-3 rating in Anaheim while labouring on the ice and struggling with injuries, including a groin problem that required surgery. Corey Crawford Jersey. The Ducks are the fifth NHL team for Heatley, who had two 50-goal seasons with the Ottawa Senators during a career that began in 2001. 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