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Sam Gagner

Sam Gagner Confirms Retirement, Joins Senators’ Front Office

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Longtime NHL forward Sam Gagner has confirmed his retirement and will join the Senators as their director of player development, the team announced.

“Sam had an incredible career as a player and we look forward to launching his next chapter,” Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. “A true character individual, Sam has contributed to the success of his organizations, both on and off the ice.”

Gagner, 35, last played in the league during the 2023-24 season when he appeared in 28 games for the Oilers, his third go-around with the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2007. He cracked the 1,000 game plateau a few years ago. He finished his career with 1,034 regular-season appearances but played just 11 postseason contests over 17 years in the NHL, only reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Flyers in 2016 and the Blue Jackets in 2017.

After tantalizing with 118 points in just 53 junior games with the OHL’s London Knights in his draft year, the 5’11” center never arrived as an elite scoring presence in the pros. He was still a consistent yet sometimes injury-prone 40-point scorer, especially early in his career with Edmonton. He averaged 17 goals and 50 points per 82 games over the first seven years of his career with the Oilers and averaged north of 17 minutes per game.

One season into a three-year, $14.4MM contract he signed with the Oilers as an RFA, Gagner was flipped to the Coyotes via the Lightning in the summer of 2014 after underwhelming with 37 points and a -29 rating in 67 games the year prior. So began the journeyman stage of Gagner’s career as his offensive production fluctuated wildly from year to year, even resulting in some time in the minors. Between 2014 and 2020, Gagner would suit up for the Flyers, Blue Jackets, Canucks, the Oilers for a second time, and the Red Wings in addition to his year in Arizona. During that run, he scored a career-high 50 points in 81 games with Columbus in the 2016-17 campaign.

Gagner got a modicum of stability to end his career, spending two full seasons with Detroit after they acquired him from Edmonton at the 2020 trade deadline. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Jets before signing his final NHL deal with the Oilers nearly two years ago. The versatile right-shot pivot finishes his career with 197 goals, 332 assists, 529 points, and a -139 rating, averaging 15:37 per game and a 45.6 FO%. He earned approximately $38.1MM in salary throughout his career, per PuckPedia.

While Gagner didn’t play in the NHL last season, he was still active on an AHL deal with the Senators’ affiliate in Belleville, giving some context for his joining the front office of a team he never suited up for in the majors. He recorded 10 assists in 19 games for the B-Sens, appearing in his last game on March 5.

Ottawa also announced they’ve hired Matt Turek to serve as Belleville’s GM while taking a player personnel role with the parent club. He arrives in Ottawa after spending the last decade with the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL as a scout and, later, their GM. Senators majority owner Michael Andlauer also owns that club, and Turek also worked under Staios as a scout when the latter was Hamilton’s GM before succeeding him upon his departure.

Turek will take on most of the responsibilities vacated by former assistant GM Ryan Bowness, who the Senators told clubs earlier this month won’t be back with the team next season.

Image courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

Sam Gagner Signs PTO With AHL Belleville

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Unrestricted free agent center Sam Gagner will attempt to continue his NHL career in the Senators organization. He’s signed a professional tryout with their AHL affiliate in Belleville, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports Friday.

Gagner, 35, has been on the open market since the Oilers opted not to renew his two-way deal for 2023-24. He’s sat at home for most of the campaign after failing to land a contract from the Hurricanes during a PTO with them during training camp. However, he did travel to Switzerland to captain Team Canada to a semifinal loss at the 2024 Spengler Cup.

The veteran of 1,043 NHL games will suit up for the B-Sens tonight, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, marking the first time in his career that he’s seen AHL action in back-to-back seasons. He recorded nine points in 15 games for AHL Bakersfield last season after falling out of Edmonton’s NHL forward rotation and clearing waivers.

While Gagner has been limited by hip surgery and a concussion over the past two seasons, he’s still been a reasonably effective fourth-line producer when dressed. He has 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 76 games since the beginning of the 2022-23 season with the Jets and Oilers.

Whether he still has NHL utility after missing half the campaign remains to be seen, but he’ll at least get the chance to land a two-way deal from the Sens before the trade deadline. He’s a more experienced recall option by far than their current rotation of names like Matthew Highmore, Jan Jeník, and Cole Reinhardt – experience that could come in handy as Ottawa battles to end their eight-year postseason drought down the stretch.

Gagner, the sixth overall pick of the 2007 draft, has 197 goals and 332 assists for 529 career NHL points across three stints in Edmonton plus ones in Arizona, Philadelphia, Columbus, Vancouver, Detroit, and Winnipeg. The Sens would be his fourth Canadian team if he lands a deal and adds to his NHL tallies.

International Notes: Leipsic, Bitten, Timashov, Gagner

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The current roster freeze will prevent several roster moves in the NHL over the next few days. However, that won’t stop roster moves on the international stage, particularly in the Kontinental Hockey League. A couple of those transactions overseas include notable former NHL talent.

Longtime NHL veteran Brendan Leipsic has been traded in the KHL from Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg to Sibir Novosibirsk, per a release from the latter. In his first season with Yekaterinburg, Leipsic scored six goals and seven points in 25 KHL contests. It’s been six years since Leipsic suited up in the NHL, most recently for the Capitals. The former third-round pick of the Nashville Predators played in 187 games in the NHL from 2016 to 2020, scoring 16 goals and 59 points overall. He’s been far more productive in Russia, scoring 46 goals and 114 points in 197 games since joining the KHL ranks in 2020-21.

Other international transactions:

  • Former NHL prospect William Bitten is on the move in the KHL. Anton Nekrasov of Championat confirmed that HK Sochi has claimed Bitten off waivers from Spartak Moscow. Only a year removed from scoring 39 goals and 78 points in 133 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and debuting in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23, Bitten’s transition to the KHL has been nothing short of disastrous. He scored one goal and five points in 21 games for Moscow, leading the team to move on relatively quickly.
  • In a corresponding move, Sochi released former Maple Leafs, Red Wings, and Islanders winger Dmytro Timashov, the team announced on Telegram. The 28-year-old Swede has been a non-factor in his first season in Russia, posting a goal and three assists in 22 games. He last suited up in the NHL with the Isles in 2020-21 and has quickly established himself as a European journeyman since, suiting up in Sweden and Switzerland before arriving in Sochi over the offseason. A fifth-round pick of Toronto in 2015, Timashov recorded four goals and five assists in 45 NHL contests while averaging 8:30 per game across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
  • Unrestricted free agent center Sam Gagner is in Sweden training with Djurgårdens IF of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, reports Andreas Hanson of HockeyNews.se. Gagner, 35, has yet to play in 2024-25 but was recently named to Team Canada’s roster for this year’s Spengler Cup. The veteran of 1,043 NHL games could sign overseas for the first time since playing in Austria during the 2012 lockout if he has a decent showing at the tournament. After posting 10 points in 28 games in a limited role with the Oilers last season, Gagner signed a professional tryout with the Hurricanes in September but was released at the end of training camp.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed to this article.

Hurricanes Sign Sam Gagner, Rocco Grimaldi To PTOs

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Sep. 17: The Hurricanes listed Gagner on their training camp roster today, confirming the PTO. They’re also adding veteran depth forward Rocco Grimaldi on a tryout. Grimaldi, 31, has 67 points in 203 career NHL games but hasn’t played at the top level since seeing brief action with Nashville in 2021-22. He spent last season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, once again the Hurricanes’ affiliate, after spending last year as an independent club, leading them with 36 goals and 73 points in 72 games.

Sep. 10: The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to sign veteran forward Sam Gagner to a professional try-out, per PuckPedia. Gagner is a veteran of 17 NHL seasons, making his debut with the Edmonton Oilers in 2007 after going sixth overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. He’s gone on to play for seven different NHL clubs throughout his career and will have a chance to add an eighth on this PTO.

Gagner made his NHL debut at 18 –  ultimately earning 13 goals and 49 points as a rookie while filling a consistent second-line role. He proceeded to fill that role and match that production through the next 11 seasons, persisting through tours around the Pacific and Metropolitan Divisions. He was a reliable glue piece for lineups in flux and continued to find NHL relevancy even after his production started to dip. However, injuries have proven fickle throughout his later years, with the 2021-22 campaign standing as Gagner’s only full season since 2016-17. He’s most recently coming off a double-hip surgery in March of 2023 – a deal that ended his 2022-23 season early, though he did manage to appear in 29 games and score 10 points last season.

Gagner is far from his days of a guaranteed lineup spot due to both health and performance. But he brings the experience of a 1,000-game pro who’s played through two decades of NHL hockey. He’s scored 27 points across his last 82 career games, though that stretches back to the 2021-22 season. Still, it’s not unreasonable to think Gagner could manage one more respectable season before facing retirement. He’ll look to begin proving that at Carolina’s training camp if he indeed signs a try-out deal.

Snapshots: Jarry, Gagner, PHPA

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The Penguins weren’t believed to be opposed to moving on from Tristan Jarry back at the draft, suggests Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Last season was a rough one for the 29-year-old as he posted a 2.91 GAA and a .903 SV% in 51 games, the worst full-season numbers of his career.  In the process, he lost the starting job down the stretch to Alex Nedeljkovic, who Pittsburgh wound up re-signing.  Jarry still has four years remaining on his contract with a $5.375MM cap charge, a price tag that is certainly on the high side for the type of performance he had last season.  While there was some speculation that we could see some underachieving starters trade places this summer, most of those moves didn’t materialize so Jarry will go into Pittsburgh’s camp next month looking to reclaim the starting job.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Unrestricted free agent forward Sam Gagner has yet to sign somewhere for the upcoming season but it isn’t from a lack of interest in continuing on. Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins relays that the 35-year-old is hoping to suit up somewhere in 2024-25.  Gagner had to go the PTO route last season with Edmonton, eventually landing a two-way deal that saw him spend 15 games with AHL Bakersfield and 28 more with the Oilers.  He did record ten points with the big club despite barely averaging ten minutes a night.  At this point, a guaranteed deal seems unlikely but another PTO could come his way in the coming weeks.
  • The PHPA recently announced the hiring of Brian Ramsey as its new Executive Director. He replaces Larry Landon who retired from the role last month.  Ramsey spent the previous nine years as the Executive Director of the Canadian Football League Players’ Association.  He will be busy in the coming months as the CBA for the ECHL expires on June 30th while the CBA for the AHL ends two months later on August 31st, 2025.

Oilers Notes: Henrique, Lineup Changes, Perry

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The Edmonton Oilers may be without center Adam Henrique for an eighth straight game which means they could be limited in their ability to change up their third-line on offense. Earlier today, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reported that Henrique is “very close” and could return in either Game 3 or Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

It is becoming more dire by the day for Edmonton to get Henrique back into the lineup even though the Oilers find themselves in a tied series against the Dallas Stars. Throughout the playoffs, Edmonton’s third line of Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, and Ryan McLeod has combined for four points while producing a rating of -17 between the trio. The line has not aided the Oilers’ ability to win games up to this point even though it boasts one of the best combinations of foot speed.

Getting Henrique back into the lineup would allow Edmonton to bump McLeod to the wing and move Ryan down the fourth line which should balance the offense. Before succumbing to an undisclosed injury, Henrique scored six goals and nine points in 22 games for the Oilers after being acquired at the trade deadline and put up another two points in six postseason contests.

Other Oilers notes:

  • Outside of getting Henrique back into the lineup, Caleb Kerney of The Hockey News wrote this morning that Edmonton should consider making a few other tweaks. Kerney argues that if Henrique cannot return in time for Game 3, the Oilers should move depth forward Sam Gagner into the fourth-line center position instead of Sam Carrick. Despite Carrick sporting better defensive awareness than Gagner, the former’s speed and creativity may give Edmonton’s offense a much-needed jolt.
  • Off the ice, PuckPedia confirmed this morning that if the Oilers win the Conference Finals against the Stars, they will need to pay Corey Perry a $50K performance bonus. Since Perry has already played at least 50% of Edmonton’s potential games through the first three rounds of the playoffs, Perry has already hit the first qualifier for the bonus. If the Oilers end up having to pay the bonus to Perry, they will add on to an already league-leading overage penalty for next season at $3.55MM.

Oilers Recall Sam Gagner And Adam Erne

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The Oilers will have some extra depth on hand for their final couple of games of the season.  The team announced today that they’ve recalled forwards Sam Gagner and Adam Erne from AHL Bakersfield.

Gagner had an extended PTO with Edmonton back in training camp but was converted to a full-season deal back at the end of October.  Since then, he has split time between the Oilers and Condors.  The 34-year-old has been reasonably productive in limited minutes with Edmonton, tallying five goals and five assists in 27 games while averaging a little over ten minutes a night.  He has fared better in the minors on a per-game basis, collecting three goals and six helpers in 15 contests.

As for Erne, he also signed in-season with the Oilers, inking a two-way deal back on October 13th.  The 28-year-old has suited up 23 times for Edmonton so far but has just two points along with 67 hits while logging less than eight minutes a night.  Meanwhile, in Bakersfield, Erne has six goals and six assists through 35 contests.

Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents in July and aren’t expected to be in the lineup tonight against Arizona.  However, they could suit up on Thursday versus Colorado if the team decides to rest some forwards heading into the playoffs.

Western Notes: Wild, Oilers, Podkolzin, Foudy

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The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Marcus Johansson on injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered in the team’s Saturday game against the St. Louis Blues. Johansson has since missed the team’s last two games, and will now be out until at least Sunday. Minnesota has recalled forward Adam Beckman from the AHL in a corresponding move.

Johansson, 33, has managed nine goals and 27 points in 61 games this season. It’s his third season spending time with Minnesota, joining the team via trade last season, with Minnesota sending a 2024 third-round pick to the Washington Capitals in return. He also played 36 games for Minnesota during the shortened 2020-21 season. Johansson has totaled 117 career games with the Wild, the second-most he’s played for any team. He has 21 goals and 59 points across those games – bringing his career totals up to 480 points in 894 games.

Johansson is signed through the 2024-25 season, riding out a two-year, $4MM contract extension signed at the end of last season. The new deal will carry him through his age-35 season and carries a $2MM cap hit. His absence will make room for Beckman’s return to the NHL. The 22-year-old winger has been called up twice this season, though he’s yet to play in his first NHL game of the season. He’s instead played 48 games in the AHL, serving as an alternate captain for the Iowa Wild and scoring 29 points. Beckman made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season, and has since totaled 12 games in the league, though he’s still searching for his first NHL goal.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers have sent young winger Dylan Holloway and veteran Sam Gagner to the AHL. Gagner had to clear waivers for the loan, while Holloway maintains waiver exemption. The pair have each slotted into a handful of NHL games this season, with Gagner scoring 10 points in 27 games and Holloway managing four points in 32 games. These moves make both Holloway and Gagner eligible to play in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Holloway has appeared in four AHL games this season, scoring four points, while Gagner has played in three games and scored five points.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled winger Vasily Podkolzin, after sending him to the minor leagues on Wednesday. He appeared in two games during his previous recall, recording one shot and no other stat changes while averaging roughly 10 minutes of ice time. The two games marked Podkolzin’s first NHL appearances of the season, with the 22-year-old spending much of the year in the minor leagues, where he’s put up 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games.  Podkolzin recorded 120 NHL games over the last two seasons, scoring a combined 33 points. He’ll likely serve as an extra forward for Vancouver.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Jean-Luc Foudy to the AHL, just hours after after he scored his first NHL goal. Foudy’s season started late, with the forward grappling with a lower-body injury until mid January. He’s since played in 12 AHL games, scoring six points, and one NHL game. The 21-year-old’s appearance with the Avalanche brings his career totals up to 10 games – with his first career goal also marking the first point of his career.

Edmonton Oilers Place Sam Gagner On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Sam Gagner on waivers for assignment to AHL Bakersfield, according to a team announcement. Gagner is now in his third stint with the Oilers after signing a one-year, $775K contract with the organization back on October 31st.

Nearing the end of his career, Gagner is on his fourth straight contract paying him under $1MM a season. Primarily used as nothing more than a bottom-six forward, Gagner continues to add decent value to whichever organization he finds himself in.

In his last full season back in 2021-22 with the Detroit Red Wings, Gagner put together a 13-goal, 31-point performance over 81 games, finishing seventh on the team in scoring while playing on a one-year, $850K contract. However, it was not enough to earn him a raise on the free agent market, as Gagner had to wait until September 2nd to sign a one-year league minimum contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

Unfortunately, Gagner was used sparingly by the Jets as he only averaged a little more than 12 minutes of ice time per game. Scoring eight goals and 14 points in 48 games, Gagner had his season cut short on March 16th after going down with a hip injury.

Now back in Edmonton for the first time since the 2019-20 season, Gagner got off to a hot start, scoring five goals and 10 points in his first 20 games. Unfortunately, Gagner has now gone scoreless in his last seven games, seeing his average ice time drop by a full minute. With 12 other forwards currently on the active roster, the Oilers are likely preferring more cap space leading up to the deadline rather than Gagner’s recent play.

Oilers Assign Dylan Holloway To AHL

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The Edmonton Oilers have assigned forward Dylan Holloway to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, presumably for the NHL all-star break. Holloway missed nearly two months with a lower-body injury before returning for a brief AHL stint that preceded an eventual recall to the Oilers last week.

Holloway had two goals and two assists in his brief trip to the AHL earlier in the month as he worked his way back into game shape. At the NHL level, Holloway has dressed in 17 games for the Oilers and has been used sparingly in a bottom-six role. He has two goals and a single assist while averaging 11:20 of ice time per game.

Despite the minimal usage and the injury, Holloway returned last week to the Oilers and impressed as he centered the fourth line with Sam Gagner and Connor Brown on either side. Holloway assisted on Gagner’s game-winning goal last Friday against the Calgary Flames and then added a goal on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Now with the Oilers out of action until February 6th it appears likely that the team would like Holloway to keep playing through the break to maintain the momentum he has built up since returning from injury. The former 14th overall pick might have to cancel his vacation plans over the next week, but he should receive an opportunity to play some big minutes in Bakersfield and will likely receive a call-up sometime during the first week in February.

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