Gagner

[Aceonfire*]

Does anyone else see that Gagner's compete level has totally changed?

He was 2nd in blocked shots against Colorado.

He has as many points right now as Eberle.

He just seems to be trying much harder this year to stay consistent.

Now if only his FO% would improve..

Click to read more...

 

[JawandaPuck]

I've noticed the change. His compete level is at or near the top for the team.

Looks good on him, much more like his dad.

 

[Smartguy]

Ya he has had a very good start to the year hopefully he can keep it up

 

[Comrade Blunderbore]

contract year baby!

 

[Aerchon]

I see this thread exploding in flames.

Offensively I see he has improved and is doing well this year.

Defensively he has looked terrible. Bad positioning. He looks like a winger more than a center. He looses the puck more than any other Oiler as well.

But if he keeps things going offensively hopefuly the good outweights the bad eventualy. Or... he could end up with 40+ points in 48 games and be minus 24 or worse.

 

[McBooya42]

Does anyone else see that Gagner's compete level has totally changed?

He was 2nd in blocked shots against Colorado.

He has as many points right now as Eberle.

He just seems to be trying much harder this year to stay consistent.

Now if only his FO% would improve..

Meh...He had two really bad games - SJ and LA, and three good ones where he went 50%, 53% and 58%.

 

[Grod]

contract year baby!

So was last year. And two years before that.....

 

[Giggli G]

I see this thread exploding in flames.

Offensively I see he has improved and is doing well this year.

Defensively he has looked terrible. Bad positioning. He looks like a winger more than a center. He looses the puck more than any other Oiler as well.

But if he keeps things going offensively hopefuly the good outweights the bad eventualy. Or... he could end up with 40+ points in 48 games and be minus 24 or worse.

If he has Yakupov on his line, he'll have a lot of trouble with his plus/minus that won't be his fault.

 

[Aerchon]

If he has Yakupov on his line, he'll have a lot of trouble with his plus/minus that won't be his fault.

Yak had a particularly bad night last night. But to date so far I would actualy say gagner has been more of a defensive liability than Yak... and Gagner is the centerman. Yak has far less responcibility in the nuetrul and defensive zones.

This line is gonna bleed goals. Hopefuly they can out produce the opposition.

 

[Draiskull]

Gagner looked this good last year as well before he got inured ..
Offensively he looks solid but he has long ways to go defensively.. I just dont see the current 2nd line be a + line ..

 

[stratedge]

Contract year. He's one of "those guys". Since he's RFA next year, I would think the world of Tambo if he flipped him this year at the trade deadline for a bigger centre somehow; maybe in a sequence of 2 trades. I do really like Gagner and think he's holding that 2nd line together right now, but his value is going to peak this season and the fact of the matter is that this club has needs and using him as a centre-piece for a trade makes a lot of sense. He might put up the points but he's never going to have a good +/- playing with a selfish rookie and Hemsky.

Love the guy, will miss him, but would appreciate a smart trade.

 

[stratedge]

Also, let's say Gagner puts up ~40 points this year, which is totally reasonable. I could see his value at about $4.5M going forward. That could be an issue, these things are starting to add up against this new low cap in the next few years.

 

[McGreat One]

To be honest I don't see that much of a difference in his work ethic compared to the past couple of seasons. I think Gagner has always been one of the hardest workers on the team but just couldn't find the production that he has so far this year. I actually believe the problem with Gagner in the past was that he was working too hard and trying to do too much and the reason he's putting up some points now is because he's simplified his game somewhat. Take last night's game for example, on Hemsky's goal all Gagner tried to do was put the puck on net. If that had to be a year or two ago I can see him trying to set up some fancy play that would look nice on the highlight reel. Same with the Yakupov goal. Instead of trying to deke out the dman one one one he tried to stop up and wait for the extra man in Yakupov. I'm not saying Gagner will continue his production all year but these are the things that Gagner got to do in order to stay consistent in this league.

 

[Lessy]

To be honest I don't see that much of a difference in his work ethic compared to the past couple of seasons. I think Gagner has always been one of the hardest workers on the team but just couldn't find the production that he has so far this year. I actually believe the problem with Gagner in the past was that he was working too hard and trying to do too much and the reason he's putting up some points now is because he's simplified his game somewhat. Take last night's game for example, on Hemsky's goal all Gagner tried to do was put the puck on net. If that had to be a year or two ago I can see him trying to set up some fancy play that would look nice on the highlight reel. Same with the Yakupov goal. Instead of trying to deke out the dman one one one he tried to stop up and wait for the extra man in Yakupov. I'm not saying Gagner will continue his production all year but these are the things that Gagner got to do in order to stay consistent in this league.

Agreed. Work ethic and heart have never been a problem for Gagner - the guys been a gamer since his first game in Edmonton. He's by far the most underrated player on HFboards. Simplifying his game is huge but I think he's a prime trade candidate if he can put up a 30+ point season.

 

[The Nuge]

Yak had a particularly bad night last night. But to date so far I would actualy say gagner has been more of a defensive liability than Yak... and Gagner is the centerman. Yak has far less responcibility in the nuetrul and defensive zones.

This line is gonna bleed goals. Hopefuly they can out produce the opposition.

You're kidding right? He's no selke candidate, but he's been the best player on that line in all zones

 

[thalegion]

Also, let's say Gagner puts up ~40 points this year, which is totally reasonable. I could see his value at about $4.5M going forward. That could be an issue, these things are starting to add up against this new low cap in the next few years.

I don't see him putting up 40 points in a 48 game season, he'll fall off a little bit

 

[McOilbleeder]

Yeah Gagner's problem in the past has never been work ethic. To his credit, even though he's been in the NHL for so long, he's always worked his butt off.

The difference this year so far is he's fixed alot of the mistakes that screwed his performances up from last year. For me, the biggest one being puck protection.

Last year, it was far too easy to separate Gagner from the puck. Weather it's in open ice, down low or worse, in his own zone. I don't know what he did in the offseason, weather it's bulk up or just practice the hell out of protecting the puck, but he's noticeably improved this season.

I don't think it's a surprise that once that portion of his game improved, consequently his offensive ability got more effective. If he can keep this up, he can be the #2 C on my team any day.

It was never about his size or physical play for me, rather his ability to protect the puck. You can't be separated from the puck in the playoffs and think good things will happen.

 

[rockinghockey]

For those fans that are saying his defense has been terrible I don't agree. He is a lot more responsible then I have ever seen him. Yes, he has been in the league for 5 yrs but he is 23 yrs old. Most players are just starting their careers off. It is not that I don't like Gagner and think he is a very good 2C but with the size we have we need a guy that is bigger that is his only down fall and that is something he can never change.

 

[Arpeggio]

The Oilers will be fine with RNH and Gagner as their top two centers as long as the third and fourth lines are bigger and more physical. Paajarvi and Hartikainen might be a good start if last night was any indication.

Basically I'm saying replace Horcoff and Smyth with bigger, better energy players and I don't think Gagner's size is an issue.

 

[Lessy]

The Oilers will be fine with RNH and Gagner as their top two centers as long as the third and fourth lines are bigger and more physical. Paajarvi and Hartikainen might be a good start if last night was any indication.

Basically I'm saying replace Horcoff and Smyth with bigger, better energy players and I don't think Gagner's size is an issue.

I'll agree to an extent. If we're playing Gagner and RNH in the middle then we absolutely cannot have Horcoff or Belanger on this team if we're going to win a Cup. We need monster checking centers to face tough opposition and/or some big wingers on 89's wing. A hypothetical second line of Hall-Gagner-Horton (UFA) would work.

 

[Titsuple]

I started off this year saying we need a better bigger center for yak and hemmer, after 5 games I think id rather see a bigger winger with gags and yak and move hemsky to a different line or a different team. I think we should see how everything looks around the 20 game mark before we make any trades. If Harti keeps playing like he did last night I would like to see him play with 64-89

 

[joestevens29]

I'll agree to an extent. If we're playing Gagner and RNH in the middle then we absolutely cannot have Horcoff or Belanger on this team if we're going to win a Cup. We need monster checking centers to face tough opposition and/or some big wingers on 89's wing. A hypothetical second line of Hall-Gagner-Horton (UFA) would work.

Get those big players and then worry about who needs to be moved out is my opinion.

 

[sepHF]

Yak had a particularly bad night last night. But to date so far I would actualy say gagner has been more of a defensive liability than Yak... and Gagner is the centerman. Yak has far less responcibility in the nuetrul and defensive zones.

This line is gonna bleed goals. Hopefuly they can out produce the opposition.

Gagner has been the best player on that line hands down, including defensively all season so far.

 

[joestevens29]

Gagner has been the best player on that line hands down, including defensively all season so far.

While I agree, the 2nd part doesn't do the guy justice considering what Yak and Hemsky do defensively

 

[McJadeddog]

If he has Yakupov on his line, he'll have a lot of trouble with his plus/minus that won't be his fault.

My thoughts exactly. I'm not sure you can the +/- that Hemmer and Gagner end up with this year all on them. Having a *very* offensive minded rookie on their line is going to hurt their +/- in a big way you would think.