Vancouver Canucks: What to do with Sam Gagner
By Alex Hoegler
Sam Gagner disappointed in his first season with the Vancouver Canucks. With a logjam at forward, should Jim Benning trade Gagner, or should they hope for a bounce-back season?
The Vancouver Canucks seemingly bolstered their offence by signing speedy forward Sam Gagner to a three-year deal worth $9.145 million, but the 28-year-old tallied a mere 10 goals and 31 points.
Gagner was coming off a career-best 18-goal and 50-point season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The hope was that he’d slot in nicely as a top-six forward and fix what was a brutally awful power play in 2016-17.
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You can make a case that 2017-18 was a year of bad luck for Gagner. He posted a mere 47.1 Corsi For percentage — nearly two full points lower than his career 48.9. Gagner owns a career 10.1 shooting percentage, but it was just 6.1 last season.
Logic suggests that Gagner would have more luck in 2017-18, but the Canucks signed forwards Jay Beagle, Tim Schaller and Antoine Roussel to multi-year contracts.
Elias Pettersson figures to make the roster next year, while youngsters Adam Gaudette and Nikolay Goldobin will fight for more ice time.
If general manager Jim Benning is looking to trade away a forward or two, Gagner and Brandon Sutter seem like logical options, though many feel like Goldobin’s time in Vancouver is also limited now. Gagner carries two years left on his deal and carries a $3.15 million cap hit in each, so he’s definitely affordable to other teams who want another forward.
The Canucks could dump Gagner’s contract and make extra roster room, but they’d be looking at a mid-round pick in return. Few forwards on the roster have Gagner’s speed and successful track record on the power play, so the Canucks would have troubles replacing him in a trade.
Our very own Scott Rosenhek projected the Canucks lines for 2018-19, and he has Gagner on the fourth with Schaller and Markus Granlund. But you have to wonder if a chance on the second line with either Sutter or Pettersson as his centre could help Gagner regain his old form as a solid 40-50 point player.
Though I’ve repeatedly said the Canucks need to start shipping out some veteran forwards and defencemen to make room for the younger players, Gagner shouldn’t be one of them at this point. We know he’s a solid second-liner who can play up and down the lineup, and head coach Travis Green needs a player of his caliber.
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So for now, Benning should plan to hold onto Gagner and see if he can rebound in 2018-19. If not, he can become trade bait at either the deadline or in the offseason. Keeping Gagner would carry more reward than risk, for the time being.
*Stats courtesy of Hockey Reference*