Last night on the CBC Hotstove it was reported that for the first time Sam Gagner's name is being heard in trade talks around the league. The Oiler Center is having an off year in almost every major statistical category but Edmonton's deeply flawed lineup might not have the luxury of waiting for him to come around. It has become obvious to everyone that the Oilers are not a couple of players away from competing for the playoffs. There's a lot of work ahead.
That takes us to Gagner, who has just 14 points in 31 games this season. There's no way in which the Oilers are going to get the same value for 89 right now that they could have after last season ended because of the drop in performance. The good news is that he had a very public and visible injury followed by an early return where he was forced to wear the hockey equivalent of a doggy cone. It shouldnt take too much convincing to other GMs that his performance to date has been seriously hampered because of that and he should be able to return to form in short order.
We know that Gagner is capable of playing in the top 6 and on the PP even if both are on the 2nd line and 2nd Unit. That has value in the league, so does Pedigree and Youth. Gagner isnt the player 29 other teams will want to pilfer from the team (that's Eberle) but he is still a quality player.
Much like Andrew Cogliano I have a feeling that Gagner will one day find a home on the wing and prove to be much more effective in a role that the Oilers never even bothered to try him in. Still, I am more hopeful about Gagner's potential return despite the returns for Cogliano or, more recently, Smid. Yes, both times the Oilers sent an established NHL player away for magic beans, but I think pressure to find real life players is higher than ever before.
SO WHAT CAN WE GET FOR GAGNER?
As I said, I remain optimistic but at the same time I understand that the Oil might only get 90 cents on the Dollar for his because of the way the injury has affected his season so far (his 4.8M Cap Hit isnt helping either). The target is obvious though, its a defenseman.
I see two scenarios that could play out in landing a Dman for Gagner right now.
1) The Oilers trade Gagner for a young Dman still on his ELC. This player may not necessarily be playing in the NHL right now but is considered a good prospect.
2) The Oilers trade Gagner for someone closer to their prime but has an undesirable contract. This is someone in the Tyler Myers group of players.
The Cap goes up next year but right now the Oilers will likely need to go Money-In Money-Out so I see option 2 as the most realistic scenario. Of course that precludes the Oilers trading Gagner for a pick, which would be a TERRIBLE idea at this stage of the rebuild but would be just the most Oilerish thing the Oilers could do.
LINEUPS
Eberle returns and plays on the top line with Hall and RNH. Hunt plays his 2nd game and Bryz plays in Goal. On the other side of the ice Ben Bishop plays in net. Somewhere Steve Tambellini still wonders why his offer of a 2nd, 3rd, and Ryan Jones didnt get that guy.
Hall RNH Eberle Yak Gagner Perron Smyth Gordon Hemsky Gazdic Arcobello Jones
Ference J. Schultz Hunt Petry Marincin N. Schultz
Bryzgalov
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Reunited And It Feels So Good. Hall has been lost without Eberle so far. I get it, he misses his roomie. Now they're back, Taylor Hall needs to get his game on track again.
2) Engage. How is it that an entire NHL team can fear physical contact so much? When the puck makes its way to the defensive zone you can be sure the Oilers will be 2nd to the puck if they even bother to fight for it.
3) Commit To Defense. On paper the Oil have probably the worst D in the entire league right now. When it comes to defending there is no one you can trust to get the job done on their own. All 5 skaters have to commit to Defense.
Puck drops at 6:08PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Game On!
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