Sam Gagner
G A PTS
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Good article from 1 Aug 2016......
BLUE JACKETS’ SAM GAGNER TOOK HUGE PAY CUT, BUT OPPORTUNITY IN COLUMBUS HAS HIM EXCITED
Sam Gagner’s one-year, $650,000 deal with the Blue Jackets has him taking a pay cut of more than $4 million, but the opportunity to have a “solidified position” on the roster and possibly find a long-term fit in Columbus drew him to the club.
Sam Gagner is heading to the Columbus Blue Jackets next season on a one-year, $650,000 deal. It’s a pay cut — a big one — for the 26-year-old, but the contract is almost inconsequential given the Blue Jackets could provide Gagner the chance to get his career back on track.
Over the past two years, Gagner hasn’t been able to find solid footing in the NHL, which is bizarre considering he was a first-round pick in 2007 and has shown consistent scoring ability almost everywhere he’s been.
From June 2014 to June 2016, Gagner was traded three times, sent to the minors and forced to watch from the sidelines as a healthy scratch. He went from having consistent 15-goal, 35-point seasons with the Edmonton Oilers to being a fourth-line player with the Philadelphia Flyers this past season, scoring a career-worst eight goals and 16 points in just 53 games. Signing with the Blue Jackets, though, gives Gagner hope that he can right the ship as he enters what should be the prime years of his career.
“All I’m looking for is an opportunity,” Gagner told the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline. “Last year was a down year. I played some pretty good hockey down the stretch, but overall, I feel like I’m a lot better player than my statistics showed last year.”
Columbus will provide more than just a change of scenery for Gagner. It also sees him potentially take on a bigger role and at a different position than he played last season.
The Blue Jackets aren’t thin, per se, at center, but they don’t have much in the way of veteran presence to take on the role. And so Gagner, who has played at all three forward positions during his career, will get the chance to move back into the middle. He could even potentially battle for the job on the second line, potentially scoring the top-six center role ahead of youngsters Alexander Wennberg and William Karlsson. According to Portzline, Gagner had offers from at least four other clubs, but the chance to have a consistent role and one that would push him in Columbus helped seal the deal for the Blue Jackets.
“It’s nice to have a solidified position that allows you to get comfortable,” Gagner told Portzline. “That’s one of the things Columbus could offer, a chance to play up the middle. That’s an exciting challenge for me. I’ve always enjoyed the responsibility of playing center.”
Entire article:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/a...-huge-pay-cut-but-opportunity-has-him-excited
Getting off to an excellent start so early in the season is just ridiculous.. Usually they start off slow and end very nicely. Just hope that they do not reverse it this season.