Leafs GM Dave Nonis admitted that using Jake Gardiner as a forward has come up in discussions before, but it doesn't appear to be something that will happen. "He was a forward, he started as a forward. He played more of his formative years as a forward," Nonis said. "There's been some talk of it, but I think he gives us an element at the back end that would be hard to replace. He can skate the puck out, pretty good on the power play. So I think right now, we would keep him back there, but ..." Gardiner's name has come up in trade rumors again this off-season, but if he stays in Toronto then it's hard to imagine that he won't be a defenseman again in 2014-15.