Pinch me, because the Vancouver Canucks called up Sam Gagner

Amid a tough losing skid and an impotent cast of wingers, the Vancouver Canucks called up Sam Gagner. Once thought to be done with the organization, Gagner returns to prove he can still play at this level.

Well, well, well. I never thought the Vancouver Canucks would go down this route during this rough stretch of games. Last night’s game against the Habs was a sobering wake up call where Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat tried to win the game by themselves and just couldn’t carry the team to a victory.

They played incredibly, and it was wasted in a regulation loss. The injuries have piled up. Travis Green is using bottom six forwards on his scoring lines and the offence has dried up. None of the wingers seem to clicking except for the kid from Abbotsford, but the Canucks need far more than that if they want to stay in these games.

Which brings me to this morning. The Canucks announced the recall of Sam Gagner from the Toronto Marlies. It’s odd to hear Gagner as the team’s choice for a reinforcement. I mean, the member of the media closest to the team told us this in October:

I don’t expect IMac to be perfect, especially when Gagner did not speak to Benning since the demotion earlier in the season. However, it is interesting. MacIntyre has the “inside track” on information, right? And, the Canucks had multiple offensive options in Utica, ranging from Jonathan Dahlèn, Reid Boucher and even Zack MacEwen.

With Gagner, you get more NHL experience and roughly the same deficiencies on defence. To me the call up was meant to inject offence into the lineup, even if defence was sacrificed in exchange. So this makes me think. Why Gagner? Is it really just familiarity? Green did see Boucher last season. Seems like a quick change of heart for either side to swallow their pride.

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• Brock Boeser, Curtis Lazar placed on injury reserve
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Smilin’ Sammy has 15 points in as many games with the Marlies this year, including seven goals. Boucher has 15 points in 11 games, scoring 10 times with the Comets. Gagner can play centre, but Green was never a fan of him there. He is likely here to play on the wing. The struggles on the power play have been noted, even with Pettersson’s goal last night. The team needs a shake up and maybe this will do the trick.

However, is there something else at play? Maybe, the team is giving Gagner the showcase he needs for a trade to go down. Gagner clearly wants to be in the NHL, but I don’t know if he wants to be with the Canucks anymore for the remainder of his deal. A trade can fix that problem.

The big problem is that contract. Vancouver can retain 50% of it, but perhaps some teams want to make sure he can still play. Don’t be surprised if you see Gagner log heavy offensive minutes at even strength and on the power play. The situation with Sam Gagner is a lot more interesting now, so I’m curious to see how this plays out.

To close things off, Irfaan Gaffar had a few interesting notes about this morning’s practice. Chris Tanev sat this one out for a maintenance day, but Antoine Roussel and Jacob Markstrom left the ice early. Maybe the Swedish netminder isn’t 100% right now. Things get interesting from here if there is an injury. Is it Thatcher Demko time, despite him not playing a game yet?