On Saturday it was reported by Aaron Portzline that the Blue Jackets were closing in on a one-year deal with free agent Sam Gagner.
Today the deal became official.
For $650K this is a fantastic deal! It’s a no risk deal for the team and a “prove it” deal for the player. Gagner struggled last season with the Flyers scoring just eight goals and eight assists in 53 games. This was the first down statistical season in Gagner’s career. In his eight prior seasons he had scored at least 37 points. He’s been a very consistent 40 point player in his career. If he is able to stay healthy this season it would not be a surprise to see him back around that mark with the Jackets.
There is a lot more to Gagner’s game than points. He's a very good possession driver and has again been consistent in that as you can see in his Hero Chart.
Gagner, still just 26 years old, provides the Jackets with some great flexibility. He’s predominately been a centre in his career but he can play right wing as well. He likely slots in on the third line and fits into the same role I had envisioned Brandon Pirri playing back when
I wrote about him in early July. He’s a perfect bottom six player who can provide offense and step up into the top six if an injury strikes. Carolyn Wilke in May went as far as to say Gagner might be the best value in free agency.
Personally I don’t think he fits into the Jackets top six but having a player of that calibre on your third line definitely strengthens your overall team. Gagner would be a great complement to Oliver Bjorkstrand on the third line as he loves to pass and Bjork loves to shoot. Gagner also provides some insurance if Bjorkstrand isn’t quite ready for the NHL. If Bjorkstrand has to go back to the AHL, Gagner could slide over to RW and a player like William Karlsson could fill that third line centre role.
Another part of this Gagner signing is he is the perfect example of how easy it is late in the summer to get NHL depth players. I talked about this when the Jackets were signing
Jordan Maletta and
Justin Scott. Teams do not need to develop bottom six players. You can find them so easily in free agency every year, whether it be a Sam Gagner, Brandon Pirri, Jiri Hudler, Jiri Tlusty etc.
Gagner is also the prime example in showing where bottom six players come from. The best bottom six players tend to be failed top six players. This is an idea taken from baseball where the best relief pitchers tend to be failed starters. The idea behind this is the better pitchers are starters and developed as starters, if they fail to succeed in the MLB they can transition to bullpen where their skills play up in the lesser role. This same concept can be applied to hockey with top six players and bottom six players. The best players/prospects are those who play on the top line/top defence pair. If they don’t have success in that top line role at the NHL level they can transition to the bottom six where their skills will play up in a lesser role.
Gagner was a top 10 pick and projected to be the future #1 centre for the Oilers. He never lived up to that hype and has found a home in the NHL as a very good complementary player. That is part of the reason why I am so high on players like Dante Salituo and Vitali Abramov. They have both been top line players in Junior and if they fail to become top line NHL players, it’s not hard to envision them as strong middle/bottom six players.
Signing Sam Gagner isn’t the flashiest move, but he provides some offensive upside and has good underlying numbers. He’s still young and deepens the Blue Jackets forward group. If he can get back to the level of play he showed in Arizona just two seasons ago he will end up as one of the biggest free agent bargains this season. If not, no harm no foul for the Jackets as there is no risk when you sign a player this cheaply.
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