NHL Rumors: Oilers reunion with Sam Gagner, plus latest on P.K. Subban and Phil Kessel
Anthony Scultore
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The Edmonton Oilers may be looking for a reunion with Sam Gagner in the latest batch of NHL Rumors.
According to Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal, the team is still looking at signing unrestricted free agents. One such player that GM Ken Holland has had conversations with is Gagner.
NHL Rumors: Sam Gagner back again with Oilers?
There is lots of speculation as to just which players Holland has talked to. But my information that one of them is indeed former Oiler Sam Gagner. Gagner had a very respectable year in Detroit in 2021-22. In 81 games, he went 13-18-31 and was just -4 on a bad team. And 21 of those points were at 5v5. Sam is not the player he was when Edmonton first drafted him… At 33, Sam is not “old” …yet. And when he is done, Gagner would be a solid candidate for getting into player development.
Edmonton Journal
Gagner was originally drafted by Edmonton as the sixth overall selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He spent 7 seasons there and accumulated 295 points before being dealt in a three-way trade to the Arizona Coyotes in 2014.
The Oilers then reacquired him in 2019 from the Vancouver Canucks for Ryan Spooner before shipping him to the Detroit Red Wings in 2020.
Last season, Gagner signed a one-year deal with the Wings for $850,000.
Oilers still lead candidates for Subban and Kessel
There’s been much speculation regarding the landing spots of two other available UFAs in P.K. Subban and Phil Kessel.
Subban, 33, recorded 22 points in 77 games last season. He’s not going to see an AAV of $9 million ever again, but could be a nice low-cost add for one season.
Kessel, 34, scored 52 points in 82 games last season with the hapless and floundering Arizona Coyotes. For that alone, the happy-go-lucky winger should garner some interest this summer with a contender on a one or two-year deal with a low cap hit.
According to top oddsmaker Bodog, Edmonton is the lead team to sign both players.
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal isn’t really buying it.
Bodog oddsmakers must be listening to Oilers Now, where team insider Bob Stauffer said this week that a few players who have earned more than $50 million are now looking at the Oilers as a choice destination, given they would like a shot at playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and maybe winning the Stanley Cup. Kessel’s name has come up repeatedly on Oilers Now as a possible signing for the Oilers.
Edmonton Journal