Confirmed with Link: [EDM/TBL] Sam Gagner For Teddy Purcell; Then TBL Trades Gagner to ARZ Part II

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LTIR

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Nov 8, 2013
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Imagine the gongshow here on HfOil if MacT traded Gagner+ for 6th straight to ARZ.
 

Jamie

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Mar 2, 2002
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I think this is a case of giving up on a kid too early. I think Gagner will have a solid (he will never be a top liner) career as a 2nd line complimentary player that can be used anywhere.
 

SeriousBusiness

T.Hall da man
Oct 5, 2003
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I think this is a case of giving up on a kid too early. I think Gagner will have a solid (he will never be a top liner) career as a 2nd line complimentary player that can be used anywhere.

Maybe he would have stuck here if we didn't have better options on the wing, but he'd be a third liner here, and a bad one at that.
 

McDNicks17

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Jul 1, 2010
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I think this is a case of giving up on a kid too early. I think Gagner will have a solid (he will never be a top liner) career as a 2nd line complimentary player that can be used anywhere.

Giving up early? Were they supposed to give him 10 years or something?
 
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Blue And Orange

Oilers & Seahawks
Jan 21, 2010
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As an Oilers fan, I love that Gagner is traded. He just wasn't a fit. A small skilled forward who was weak defensively on a team full of small forwards would not do well. His weaknesses are much more exposed.

AS a Gagner fan, I love that he got a change of scenery. I think PHX is a great place for him to redeem himself. PHX is a well coached team full of defensive minded forwards but need offensive minded players (Gagner fits that bill). He's essentially replacing Ribeiro who is similar to Gagner except he's not excatly a character guy (Gagner is a character guy).
So with that said, I'm happy for both the Oilers and for Gagner. :)
 

Oilfan2

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Aug 12, 2005
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As an Oilers fan, I love that Gagner is traded. He just wasn't a fit. A small skilled forward who was weak defensively on a team full of small forwards would not do well. His weaknesses are much more exposed.

AS a Gagner fan, I love that he got a change of scenery. I think PHX is a great place for him to redeem himself. PHX is a well coached team full of defensive minded forwards but need offensive minded players (Gagner fits that bill). He's essentially replacing Ribeiro who is similar to Gagner except he's not excatly a character guy (Gagner is a character guy).
So with that said, I'm happy for both the Oilers and for Gagner. :)

Well said. That's pretty much where I'm at in regards to this.

I was a big Gagner fan for the first 4-5 years but the Oilers just aren't built to give him success.
I think he'll do well in Ariz.
 

Jamie

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Giving up early? Were they supposed to give him 10 years or something?

He's only 24, problem is he was rushed to the NHL - should've finished junior career and 2 years in the AHL and came in as a 22 year old and I don't think people would be having the same opinion (I also think he'd be further ahead if went that route...). I think this coming season he starts to look like a more consistent performer.
 

OF17

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Dec 2, 2007
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He's only 24, problem is he was rushed to the NHL - should've finished junior career and 2 years in the AHL and came in as a 22 year old and I don't think people would be having the same opinion (I also think he'd be further ahead if went that route...). I think this coming season he starts to look like a more consistent performer.

I hate this notion that Gagner was rushed. He scored 49 points as a rookie, good for 3rd in team scoring and 5th for rookie scoring that year. He was clearly ready to play. His development stagnated, and his defensive commitment never came through, but do you honestly think that another year or two on the London Knights would've changed that? If anything, it's an indictment of the Oilers' ability to insulate their young players with good support, and it's an indictment of the Oilers' coaching decisions over the years. But Gagner was just plain ready to play. He made the team fair and square and performed admirably.

I do think that it's the right decision to send him on though. Too many players with his skill set on the team, and he isn't as good as they are. Arizona is an excellent landing spot for him. He gets to be the man on their 1st PP unit, he gets to be surrounded by players that compensate for his lack of size, grit, and defensive play. I think it's a great fit for him. At the same time, Purcell is a great fit for us. Bigger body, good skating, a natural winger with slightly more offense than Gagner. And he's older. Not as much NHL experience as Gagner, but being older is an advantage in its own right. His body is more developed, he's more developed as a person. Great trade all around IMO, and given what Tampa got for Gagner, I think it was great value.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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I think this is a case of giving up on a kid too early. I think Gagner will have a solid (he will never be a top liner) career as a 2nd line complimentary player that can be used anywhere.

I agree...I think Gagner is still likely to improve and become a solid complementary player.

The problem with the Oilers was all about fit. This team was a bad fit for Gagner and Gagner was a bad fit for the team. Gagner was not put in a position to succeed primarily because the Oilers roster was so imbalanced that it was difficult to accommodate that.

Gagner has Tambo to thank for the ridiculously poor roster structure the past few years..

Ultimately a change had to be made for the sake of both parties.
 

ManByng

It's Me OilTastic
Aug 4, 2009
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He's only 24, problem is he was rushed to the NHL - should've finished junior career and 2 years in the AHL and came in as a 22 year old and I don't think people would be having the same opinion (I also think he'd be further ahead if went that route...). I think this coming season he starts to look like a more consistent performer.

^i hate the idea that an 18 year old was automatically "rushed" to the NHL because he never became better than the EXPECTATIONS were of him. he had a good rookie year, then simply never got better....it happens! he simply did not turn into a top player even though he was taken at #6.
 

Eirhead*

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He's only 24, problem is he was rushed to the NHL - should've finished junior career and 2 years in the AHL and came in as a 22 year old and I don't think people would be having the same opinion (I also think he'd be further ahead if went that route...).

Just like we need to do with Nurse and Draisaitl so we don't ruin them, right?
 

Aceboogie

Registered User
Aug 25, 2012
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I, for one, think it would be advantageous for both to have a year in the AHL before making the jump.

Nurse MIGHT, but only if Klefbom/Marincin have locked down top 2 LD spots and Ference/Simpson are doing a fine job on third pairing.

But I think hell be ready the year after next. And by most reports, he is going beast mode in the prospect camp to try and make it

Draistail there is a 0% chance. He is basically NHL ready now physicality wise and offensively. He just needs to work on skating and D zone play, which dont take 2 years to develop
 

enthropi

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Nov 2, 2007
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Glad Gagner is gone only to purge so many annoying posts and off-topic BS on this board. I also don't believe the notion that he was rushed. He nearly took the team singlehandedly into the playoffs in his rookie season. The real problem is not Gagner, but the fact that this team has consistently had players that compounded his weaknesses (because they all had/have the same ones) and him being a center it became more glaring.

He was a great team player, and I am sure he will do well in PHX, surrounded by good 2-way Cs and players that play quite differently than he does. He will probably get prime PP time again and will make 2 teams look foolish, although it was time for him to leave the Oilers regardless of what happens now.
 

nexttothemoon

and again...
Jan 30, 2010
29,277
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Gagner was a top 6 pick in his draft. Those types of highly ranked forwards are usually playing in the NHL in the year or two after they are drafted.

Whether he was rushed or not is debatable... but let's say for the sake of argument he was.

Gagner had YEARS to work on his speed and his faceoff ability and his defensive game (as well as getting stronger/more physical overall for board battles and not being knocked around as much).

Facts are he's not really elite or even above average in anything except his passing/offensive smarts. In basically every other area he's mediocre.

He wasn't an asset at C... and the only logical place to put him on the Oilers was on the wing... where he's still a small( maybe not tiny... but he plays small), slow, physically lacking player who isn't solid defensively. He would chip in some goals (15-20 in a really good year) and make some setup plays in a series of games and then go silent for long stretches (sometimes very long stretches).

If Gagner wasn't producing offensively he was essentially useless out there in any other facet of the game.

I'm not saying good riddance... but honestly anyone could see he just didn't fit anymore on the team especially with the makeup of the Oilers and for Gagner's sake as well... a change of teams would almost undoubtedly do him good.
 

Mr Positive

Cap Crunch Incoming
Nov 20, 2013
35,797
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I so agree nexttothemoon. People talk like Gagner is walking into a great situation in Phoenix and will flourish but I think it's more likely that the wheels come off completely just like how Dubnyk went from bad to worse after leaving.
 

syz

[1, 5, 6, 14]
Jul 13, 2007
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I had decent expectations for Gagner in Tampa playing on the wing with some legit guys.

Now he's pretty much by himself in Arizona and I'm no longer so optimistic.
 
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