Red Wings re-sign Sam Gagner for 1 year at $850,000

The Detroit Red Wings are starting to build their 2020-2021 roster. Yesterday, they signed Turner Elson to a 1-year deal to assist the Grand Rapids Griffins, and today, they’ve signed Sam Ganger to a 1-year deal:

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed center Sam Gagner to a one-year contract extension

Gagner, 31, was acquired by Detroit on Feb. 24 along with a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Kuffner. The 13-year NHL veteran went on to score one goal in six games with the Red Wings, totaling 13 points (6-7-13) and 12 penalty minutes in 42 combined NHL games between Detroit and Edmonton in 2019-20. Gagner has appeared in 844 career NHL contests with the Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Red Wings, tallying 459 points (164-295-459) and 380 penalty minutes since 2007-08. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound forward has also appeared in parts of three American Hockey League seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Toronto Marlies and Bakersfield Condors, totaling 47 points (15-32-47) and 21 penalty minutes in 56 games between 2015-20.

Originally drafted in the first round (sixth overall) by Edmonton in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Gagner made the NHL as an 18-year-old after splitting his junior career between the United States Hockey League’s Sioux City Musketeers (2005-06) and Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights (2006-07), logging 46 points (11-35-46) in 56 USHL games and racking up 118 points (35-83-118) in 53 OHL games prior to being drafted. The London, Ontario, native has also represented Canada internationally on several occasions, notably winning gold medals at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2012 Spengler Cup, along with a silver medal at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that the deal is a 1-year, 1-way contract for $850,000; the Free Press’s Helene St. James confirms and calls it a “no-risk signing.”

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!