The Hockey News’s Mike Stephens posted a list of his top 5 free agent centers still available on the free agent marketplace, and he brings up an intriguing name still out there–one that the Red Wings employed this past season in Sam Gagner:
Sam Gagner
2021-22 Stat Line: 81 GP, 13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points, 13:37 TOI
2021-22 Cap Hit: $750,000Gagner has been around for so long that it’s easy to miscast him as a Jason Spezza-type greybeard. But Gagner will only be 33 when the regular season begins in a few months’ time, four years younger than Spezza was when he first signed in Toronto, and seems to have plenty of tread left on his tires after 15 NHL seasons.
Despite logging under 14 minutes per night on a bad Red Wings team in 2021-22, Gagner still managed to rack up over 30 points and nearly 15 goals all while beginning just 41 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, providing terrific value as a depth forward making the NHL’s minimum wage.
Who knows what he could do in different circumstances? Perhaps with a better supporting cast around him and the benefit of some offensively-sheltered usage, Gagner could the perfect addition to any contender’s fourth line as they gear up for a Cup run.
There’s simply no risk in giving him a shot. And I’d bet as training camp roles around, Gagner finds himself on the receiving end of a few intriguing offers.
Continued; Gagner is one of those players that’s probably going to go into an NHL team’s front office when he retires, and in the interim, he is still both relatively productive and relatively young, showing glimpses and flashes of top-end skill from time to time while performing at a workmanlike level.
I wonder whether the Red Wings might invite him to camp to see whether he can serve as a solid depth player for Detroit again.
