GAGNER AIMING TO SHOW GREATER VERSATILITY TO HIS GAME
When the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Sam Gagner from the Arizona Coyotes and elected to keep the forward rather than buy him out for immediate salary cap space, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said that the player's impressive natural offensive skill set -- despite the 26-year-old player's so-so point production for most of his eight-year career -- was the key factor in the decision.
Hextall also noted the player's versatility in being able to move around the lineup. While it will ultimately be up to Dave Hakstol to decide how and where to deploy Gagner, Hextall said he thought it was unlikely Gagner would start out camp penciled in to play center; the position at which the veteran forward has the most experience.
"I see him more as a winger," said Hextall. "That’s going to in the end be [Hakstol's] decision, but talking to the coach, we kind of have him plugged in the wing. He played all three positions last year. He’s certainly a guy that if you have injuries he can go into the middle, which is a nice option obviously. Again, we see him right now playing the right wing, but until you get to camp and start trying line combinations, we’ll see how it shakes out."
For his part, Gagner has indicated numerous times that he has no issue playing any forward position as needed by the Flyers. Unlike many forwards, the righthanded-shooting Gagner said he does not have a particular preference for the right or left wing.
"Doesn’t matter to me," he said on June 28. "There’s some differences in terms of taking pucks off the wall in your own end, and there’s some differences in the attack. I’ve been able to adjust to both sides. I played all three positions at different times in my career, so it’s really not a problem for me to adjust."
One thing that Gagner does care about is erasing a longstanding perception that he is a subpar defensive forward. The player recently told NJ.com that, while his offensive output in Arizona last season (15 goals, 41 points in 81 games) was below what both he and the team expected, he felt that the defensive part of his game made significant strides under famously defensive-oriented Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett.
Hextall acknowledged the defensive concerns at the time Gagner was acquired but agreed with the player's assertion that he's more recently trended in the right direction in his play without the puck. At the same time, the GM cautioned that Hakstol is going to hold all of his players to a rather stringent standard of two-way expectations.
"I’ve always admired Sam’s skill," said Hextall. "I think, typical to a lot of young players, the defensive side of the game hasn’t been a strength, but I know he’s gotten better. And I know our coach and the rest of our players are going to demand that from him, as will everybody on our team."
Having played in one highly structured system in his most recent NHL stop, Gagner has asserted that it won't be an issue whatsoever to adjust and adhere to Hakstol's system. If he holds true to the way he wanted his University of North Dakota teams to play, Hakstol's system in Philadelphia will have a strong emphasis on constant skating, consistent back-pressure from forwards, strong puck support by every skater on the ice, players venturing into the high-punishment/ high-reward areas and an expectation that the D-men will be activated in the offensive zone as opportunities arise.
Although he knows that he is going to have to step up the pace of his offensive production -- having never reached 20 goals, 50 points or more than the 0.79 points-per-game he posted in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season -- Gagner is also aware that scoring has trended downward again leaguewide. The current NHL is a league steeped in emphasizing puck possession and two-way structure. The Flyers need to improve their scoring pace of last season but it cannot come at the expense of leaving goaltenders Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth to fend for themselves too frequently.
Above all else, helping the Flyers get back into the playoffs after the team missed the postseason last year is Gagner's primary objective as the start of training camp draws near. Flyers players will undergo physicals on Thursday and on-ice practices begin on Friday.
"I've played eight years now and haven't played a playoff game," he told NJ.com. "That's the best part of hockey, getting to that level and rising to that occasion. I haven't had a chance to do that yet, and I'm excited for the opportunity here to do that."
With a generally underwhelming crop of unrestricted free agent forwards available this offseason and Gagner having just one season left on his contract at a moderate $3.3 million cap hit to the Flyers, the decision to keep him in a contract-drive season made sense for Philadelphia. If the impending UFA has a good season, he is either a candidate to be moved at the trade deadline (depending on where the Flyers are in the Eastern Conference playoff race) or for the team to consider re-signing him prior to next July.
If the team's plan indeed remains for Gagner to play right wing at the outset of camp, it will be interesting to see who his initial linemates will be. Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds will not be displaced from their preferred spots. The Flyers have a greater need to achieve stability on left wing and to establish their second-line and third-line centers in even-strength situations.
Michael Rafflwill start out as the left winger on the top line with Claude Giroux and Voracek. That means Brayden Schenn, who finished last year with a strong run on Sean Couturier's right wing, will probably move back either to center or left wing to start camp.
Matt Read can play either wing and arguably has been more productive on his off-wing in his NHL career. However, amid a struggling 2014-15 season, he asked former Flyers head coach Craig Berube to switch sides with R.J. Umberger on Couturier's line. Umberger, also struggling, did not mind the switch. Berube went along with the idea but there was no significant uptick. It should also be noted that both wingers were hampered by injury. Late in the season, Read played left wing again on Couturier's line, with Schenn on the right side Both Couturier and Schenn finished the year on a hot streak.
In the meantime, Hakstol has to figure out exactly where Vincent Lecavalier fits into the picture. In light of the issues (skating, defensive play) that make him an iffy fit for Hakstol's system, is Lecavalier back on the fourth line or tried higher in the lineup again at five-on-five? Is he once again a frequent healthy scratch? Is he going to play center or right wing?
Hakstol plans to use training camp and the preseason to look at a variety of different line combinations, which may very well see players such as Gagner, Schenn and Read tried at multiple positions. The coach joked in July that he'd already written down "about a million" different combinations he'd like to look at in camp.
FLYERS PROSPECT UPDATES: SEPTEMBER 13, 2015
* Flyers 2014 second round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel has enjoyed an outstanding start to the 2015-16 QMJHL regular season. He has five points (three goals, two assists), has been credited with seven hits (several of the replay-worthy variety) and is plus-nine.
On Saturday, Aube-Kubel notched one goal, one assist and a game-high five credited hits in the Val-d'Or Foreurs' 5-2 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. He attempted five shots and got three on net. On Aube-Kubel's goal, he stationed himself on the doorstep of the crease and tapped home the puck after linemate Anthony Beauregard (one goal, two assists, plus-four) carried the puck wide to the left side after beating a defender and put the puck at the net directly to the goal-scorer's stick to take advantage of a defenseman falling down in front while jockeying for position with Aube-Kubel.
The previous night, Aube-Kubel scored two goals and an assist in Val'd'Or's 7-3 win over the Victoriaville Tigers. In this game, he was plus-five, with five shots on goal (eight attempted), two credited hits and two penalty minutes (late second-period slashing penalty).
As well as he's played thus far, Aube-Kubel still tends to do a little better job at walking the line between aggressive and undisciplined play. He remains prone to taking a few too many bad penalties. In Saturday's game, the forward left his team shorthanded twice on high-sticking and tripping infractions when the score was still tied 1-1.
* Flyers 2015 fourth-round pick Samuel Dove-McFalls recorded one assist and won 13 of 23 faceoffs as the St. John's Sea Dogs opened their QMJHL regular season with a 5-2 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night. Dove-McFalls wore the captain's C for the Sea Dogs.
Midway through the third period, Halifax's Dominik Blain took exception to a hit by the Flyers' draftee and the two players fought. Manpower-wise, the penalties offset with Blain receiving an instigator penalty and Dove-McFalls getting a boarding minor for the initial hit.
* Flyers 2015 first-round pick Ivan Provorov has played two preseason games for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings prior to his departure for Philadelphia for the start of rookie camp on Monday. On Saturday night, the highly touted Russian defenseman notched three assists (two even-strength and one power play) and was plus-one in Brandon's 8-3 road win over the Regina Pats. The Wheaties outshot Regina by a 43-16 margin for the game. The previous night, Provorov had one assist and was plus-two in Brandon's 6-2 home win over the Pats.
* J20 SuperElit North: Flyers 2015 third-round pick Felix Sandström was the starting goaltender for Brynà¤s IF Gà¤vle's J20 team in the squad's regular season opening 3-2 win over Leksand J20. Sandström turned back 27 of 29 shots to earn the win. It is not uncommon for top junior-aged players in Sweden to split time between their Swedish Hockey League (SHL) or Allsvenskan club's senior team and J20 squads. With Sandström second on the Brynà¤s senior team's goaltending depth chart, he will back up veteran Austrian goalie Bernhard Starkbaum during the SHL season. However, as the SHL schedule and logistics permit, Sandström can also start for the J20 team to get needed playing time.
* WHL preseason: The Calgary Hitmen defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings, 6-1, on Saturday. Neither Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim nor 2014 sixth-round pick Radel Fazleev were in the Calgary lineup, as they were traveling together to Philadelphia. Fazleev is also dealing with an upper-body injury.
SEPT. 15: FLYERS CELEBRITY GOLF INVITATIONAL
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, all of the Philadelphia Flyers' players will participate in the 2015 Flyers Celebrity Golf Invitational at Trump National Golf Club in Pine Hill, NJ. Flyers players Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds are honorary co-chairmen of the event. All proceeds go to benefit the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.
Snider Hockey provides learn-to-skate programs, public skating opportunities, ice hockey instruction, and league play. including all equipment, as well as supplemental academic services at no charge to approximately 3,000 inner city boys and girls in the Philadelphia area.
A year event that is the capstone fundraiser for Snider Hockey, the Celebrity Golf event grosses over $1 million annually. This year's schedule is as follows;
11:30 a.m.: Player availability 12 noon: Shotgun start 5:30 p.m.: Awards dinner & reception