The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Sam Gagner to provide leadership and experience to an unproductive bottom-six.
As reported by Sportsnet, the Edmonton Oilers have recalled Sam Gagner from their AHL affiliate the Bakersfield Condors. The move was made ahead of Sunday’s contest against the Winnipeg Jets. Gagner is a name which hockey fans in Edmonton are very familiar with. He was drafted sixth overall by the Oilers in 2007.
The 30-year-old never lived up to his first-round status, in part due to his size, lack of strength and inconsistency. Regardless, he can still give a timely boost to the bottom-six.
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Despite the Oilers’ tremendous start to the season, the reality is they have relied too much on the trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and James Neal for their scoring. The bottom-six needs to produce, which is where Gagner comes in.
The London, Ontario native is creative, versatile and should provide some desperately needed-offense for the bottom-six. He will also offer invaluable veteran leadership for the team as a whole.
This leadership was something general manager Ken Holland wanted Gagner to embrace, when he failed to make the Oilers’ roster out of training camp. As reported at the time by Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, Holland hoped the forward would take on a mentoring role in Bakersfield after clearing waivers:
"“When you build an American League team you need veteran players to be the role models and mentors helping the kids develop. I talked to Sam and mentioned Dan Cleary going to Grand Rapids for Detroit, and how much he enjoyed the experience and it led to a player development person for the Red Wings.”"
Gagner did just this, while also producing two goals and two assists in four games for the Condors. Now, he has been rewarded with another opportunity with the Oilers.
The Canadian international returned to Edmonton in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks, in February last season. He proved to be extremely useful, with 10 points (five goals and five assists) in 25 games.
The team and their fans will now be hoping Gagner can provide a similar level of production once more. If so, along with his leadership skills, he should play an integral role in helping the Oilers continue their positive start to the 2019-20 campaign.
In a related move on Saturday, the Oilers assigned Gaetan Haas to the Condors. The forward has managed just one assist in five NHL appearances this season.
Hass has agreed to the assignment in the minors, in an effort to improve his game and build his confidence. However, as per Matheson, if he spends too long with the Condors, it is believed he has an out in his contract to be able to return home to Switzerland.
What kind of impact do you predict Gagner will have for the Edmonton Oilers? More generally speaking, do you see the team continuing their strong start to the season in the coming games? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.