The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have recalled center Sam Gagner from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The 29-year-old failed to earn a spot on the Canucks NHL roster out of training camp, but rather than bury him in Utica with their AHL team, the Canucks opted to loan him to the Marlies where he could be closer to his home in Toronto.
While a team that loans a player out has the right to recall them at any time, that’s a rare occurrence as it usually means the team intends to break it off with the player. Gagner signed a three-year, $9.45MM deal last summer, but struggled with Vancouver, finishing with just 10 goals and 31 points in 74 games and with a rebuild underway and a team loaded with a number of talented centers on the roster and in the AHL, the team opted to go a different direction.
Regardless, the recall also could have more to do with Gagner’s success with the Marlies as he has posted seven goals and 15 points in 15 AHL games and has proven to be a dynamic player as one of the Marlies’ top players. While the team does have a plethora of players on injured reserve at the moment, the team may also be recalling him to showcase him to other teams that may be looking for a bottom-six center. If the Canucks can unload Gagner’s contract at any point, that would free up more cap space in the future as he still has another year at $3.15MM.
Nice of them to loan him close to home.