Recalled/Assigned: Sam Gagner recalled
- Thread starter Belisarius
- Start date
It's posts like this that make me want Gagner to catch fire and lead this team to a position one point out of the playoffs just so I can watch the likes of you blame him for, well, everything.
The Comets fans are watching Dahlen dominate the AHL to the same extent as Canucks fans are watching Goldobin dominate the NHL.
Man this is just bizarre.
October. The Canucks waive Gagner.
Fan base reaction?
Good.
He's another $3+ mil waste of a contract.
Utica finally gets the center the fans there have been whining about.
He makes it through waivers and it's announced he will be assigned to the Comets rival Toronto Marlies. This is so he can be closer to his family in Toronto. HUH?
Fan base reaction? Mixed.
Between "What the Hell is this. He should be assigned to Vancouver's farm. He is a Canuck not a Maple Leaf." That was the total consensus in Utica.
The other side was, "This is a common practice with veterans when they are finally deemed to no longer be NHL worthy. He should be allowed to be closer to his family." I have been around minor league hockey for a lot of years and this is the first case I have seen. If it's been done, it is definitely not a common practice, but instead is a pretty rare practice that players get to decide which AHL city they would prefer to go to. Higgins and Prust were both sent to Utica. Higgins was a much more important piece of Vancouver history than UFA Gagner.
The other issue is that Toronto was a bigger stage and he would have a better chance of being scouted and being picked up by another NHL team. I assume that would have meant a trade which Benning has never been able to successfully pull off for an unwanted player. What NHL team arranges to trade a player by playing him in a different city?
The worst blow was that after assigning him to Toronto we learned from Toronto that Gagner could not be assigned to Utica at any time during this season. If he went up to Vancouver and they later decided to send him down once again, he had to go to Toronto. Vancouver lost control of THEIR OWN player to another NHL franchise! I've never heard of such a thing.
15 points and 15 AHL games later he gets called back to Vancouver because the players that Benning acquired that made Gagner expendable can't do the job better than the guy who was expendable.
I am sure there will be Benning bois who will put a very positive spin on this one, but you will have zero influence on the minds of the Utica fan base. I am sure Dahlen, Jasek, MacEwen and Carcone could have benefited greatly from Gagner's presence. 2 of them would have played with him and 2 would have been with Kero when Boucher went down. When Bouch was healthy, Jasek would have been in the bottom six where he, Archibald, and Lind would have been with Gaudette to begin with and, Gadjovich, MacMaster, Palmu, and others would still have had to suffer the pain of being matched up with either Woods or Darcy and Bancks would have returned to the wing where he naturally belongs. This would have been a good top 3 centers.
As to closer to his family in Toronto___His wife and kids NEVER LEFT Vancouver. She was 3,000 miles away for ****'s sake. The Utica fan base was never given this information! Now, it is really a bogus move sending him to Toronto which is a whole 400 miles from Utica. He was no closer to his family in either location.
Now, he comes back to Vancouver to his wife and kids. Toronto was probably extremely happy to reunite him with his family as that is what NHL teams do.
October. The Canucks waive Gagner.
Fan base reaction?
Good.
He's another $3+ mil waste of a contract.
Utica finally gets the center the fans there have been whining about.
He makes it through waivers and it's announced he will be assigned to the Comets rival Toronto Marlies. This is so he can be closer to his family in Toronto. HUH?
Fan base reaction? Mixed.
Between "What the Hell is this. He should be assigned to Vancouver's farm. He is a Canuck not a Maple Leaf." That was the total consensus in Utica.
The other side was, "This is a common practice with veterans when they are finally deemed to no longer be NHL worthy. He should be allowed to be closer to his family." I have been around minor league hockey for a lot of years and this is the first case I have seen. If it's been done, it is definitely not a common practice, but instead is a pretty rare practice that players get to decide which AHL city they would prefer to go to. Higgins and Prust were both sent to Utica. Higgins was a much more important piece of Vancouver history than UFA Gagner.
The other issue is that Toronto was a bigger stage and he would have a better chance of being scouted and being picked up by another NHL team. I assume that would have meant a trade which Benning has never been able to successfully pull off for an unwanted player. What NHL team arranges to trade a player by playing him in a different city?
The worst blow was that after assigning him to Toronto we learned from Toronto that Gagner could not be assigned to Utica at any time during this season. If he went up to Vancouver and they later decided to send him down once again, he had to go to Toronto. Vancouver lost control of THEIR OWN player to another NHL franchise! I've never heard of such a thing.
15 points and 15 AHL games later he gets called back to Vancouver because the players that Benning acquired that made Gagner expendable can't do the job better than the guy who was expendable.
I am sure there will be Benning bois who will put a very positive spin on this one, but you will have zero influence on the minds of the Utica fan base. I am sure Dahlen, Jasek, MacEwen and Carcone could have benefited greatly from Gagner's presence. 2 of them would have played with him and 2 would have been with Kero when Boucher went down. When Bouch was healthy, Jasek would have been in the bottom six where he, Archibald, and Lind would have been with Gaudette to begin with and, Gadjovich, MacMaster, Palmu, and others would still have had to suffer the pain of being matched up with either Woods or Darcy and Bancks would have returned to the wing where he naturally belongs. This would have been a good top 3 centers.
As to closer to his family in Toronto___His wife and kids NEVER LEFT Vancouver. She was 3,000 miles away for ****'s sake. The Utica fan base was never given this information! Now, it is really a bogus move sending him to Toronto which is a whole 400 miles from Utica. He was no closer to his family in either location.
Now, he comes back to Vancouver to his wife and kids. Toronto was probably extremely happy to reunite him with his family as that is what NHL teams do.
Last edited:
Melvin
21/12/05
You've constructed a false narrative. Nobody ever said "this is common among nhl teams to let a veteran be close to his family." nobody ever said this was common. That's a strawman. Those of us who were paying attention have known since literally that day that his family was in Vancouver. By going to Toronto he can visit them easier without having to go through customs. I have posted this probably a dozen times now.
Whether you think it's a good decision or not (I don't) there's no need to construct straw men.
He's literally better than all of Schaller, Motte, Leipsic, and Archibald. He should be in the lineup on merit regardless.
Go back and read the number of posts that felt Benning did Gagner a good turn by sending him to Toronto.
Then the number that included it was the right thing to do for him to be closer to his family.
Also posts saying it's not unusual for NHL teams to do this as a favor to NHL veterans.
You also have Vancouver posters as late as today (e.g "Mossey") saying they never knew his family never left Vancouver. I guarantee you it was never told to the Comets fan base. How come?
All we got was the Torono Marlies GM saying he couldn't understand why an NHL franchise wouldn't want a player of Gagner's quality on their farm to help their prospects develop. He felt Gagner was perfect for that role and that's the best way to develop your prospects. You match them up with highly skilled, experienced players. Veterans was actually the word he used, to give your prospects the best chance to develop as quickly as possible.
The Marlies were tickled to death to get a player of his stature and inserted him into their lineup immediately and to their 1st PP unit as well.
I assure you I never intentionally attempted to construct a straw man. I only responded with my recollection of the multitude of posts I read on the topic. I haven't made anything up in regards to those posts. They were there on both Vancouver pages (several) and the Utica page.
Melvin
21/12/05
Good luck with that ever happening. Maybe that was a bit harsh but I just can’t stand the guy, especially after the request. Like he’s done anything to earn that, he should be grateful someone signed him to the contract he got and want to try and help the team in someway atleast(go help some wingers in Utica develop)
I thought I read the only reason his family didn't follow him out East there was because the Marlies were on a west coast road trip, so it wouldn't have made sense. They were going to after that, but then all the injuries happened and it became apparent that he was probably going to come back to Vancouver, so what was the point? All things considered, he WOULD have been closer to his family but fate just didn't allow that to happen.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
I always assumed his family was in Toronto. I know I saw it reported somewhere the move was expressly made so he could be closer to his family. Now today they're saying his family was here all along? WTF is up with that? Did it save Gagner a whopping big ten minutes to not go through customs to visit his family...who he apparently didn't visit since October now anyway? I saw in the broadcast they said his wife and kids had *just* gone to TO lately and that was their first visit since he went there and now, hey, he's called back up to the Canucks. Who apparently can no longer send him to Utica this season if BG is to be believed (and I see no reason to question his credibility).
I just don't know what the hell this team is doing.
Oh, and Gagner wasn't that bad tonight. Easily up to the usual standard we've come to expect from anyone not named Horvat or Pettersson.
I just don't know what the hell this team is doing.
Oh, and Gagner wasn't that bad tonight. Easily up to the usual standard we've come to expect from anyone not named Horvat or Pettersson.
Melvin
21/12/05
It's not that they can't send him to Utica, just that they apparently agreed not to. There isn't like some rule about it or anything.
Blade Paradigm
Registered User
- Oct 21, 2017
- 823
- 1,172
He played a very inspired game today. Hopefully, all he needed was a wake-up call. He adds poise and skill to a team that lacks offensive talent. The powerplay was able to set up much more easily today because of his shifty zone entries and smart passes.
He set up a few great chances for his linemates too. Among them, I recall the post that Bo Horvat hit, the chance for Motte that the Jets deflected, and the late chance in the crease with the goaltender pulled.
He set up a few great chances for his linemates too. Among them, I recall the post that Bo Horvat hit, the chance for Motte that the Jets deflected, and the late chance in the crease with the goaltender pulled.
PuckMunchkin
Very Nice, Very Evil!
Paulinvancouver
Gas station in Carbondale did not have fresh yams!
- Dec 19, 2015
- 4,001
- 1,024
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Okay, well then get BG to explain this:
...because this is the first I've heard of it myself. Of course, today was also the first time I'd heard that Gagner's family was in Vancouver all along.
Melvin
21/12/05
I guess it could be part of the agreement they made with the Marlies. I mean, it's kind of semantics. I don't think they would ever loan him to the comets after having first loaning him to the marlies.
As for his family, his wife and kids are in Vancouver but I'm sure he still has family in Toronto. His parents, etc.
THE Green Man
Registered User
He looked pretty good last night, set up a few chances. If he continues to play well in Boeser and Baertschi's absences I can fully get behind keeping him up and sending Leipsic down. Especially if he can fins some chemistry with Bo:
Goldobin-Petterson-Boeser
Baertschi-Horvat-Gagner
Rousell-Sutter-Virtanen
Granlund-Beagle-Eriksson
Motte
Also, his wife is a babe.
Goldobin-Petterson-Boeser
Baertschi-Horvat-Gagner
Rousell-Sutter-Virtanen
Granlund-Beagle-Eriksson
Motte
Also, his wife is a babe.
Megaterio Llamas
el rey del mambo
I think I read somewhere that he was bunking at his parents house in his old childhood bedroom.
mossey3535
Registered User
- Feb 7, 2011
- 13,244
- 9,697
I forgot where I saw a link to it but yeah, Gilman made sure the agreement stipulated that he'd have to be reloaned to the Marlies if he ever got called up.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
mossey3535
Registered User
- Feb 7, 2011
- 13,244
- 9,697
Of course he did.
Yeah, it was in the Athletic, so hard to find links. But here is a twitter post referring to it:
And once you have the precise wording, google comes through for you, as UticaHockey first quoted it in the Utica thread.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Megaterio Llamas
el rey del mambo
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
So I've gathered. *shrug*
Anyway, Gagner's not been noticeably any worse than the collection of stiffs we've been watching for the last few weeks.
Ad
Upcoming events
-
Pinguins Bremerhaven @ Eisbaren Berlin - Pinguins Bremerhaven leads series 1-0Wagers: 4Staked: $1,116.00Event closes- Updated:
-
-
2024 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Chicago Bulls @ Miami HeatWagers: 2Staked: $60.00Event closes- Updated:
-
2024 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans PelicansWagers: 2Staked: $45.00Event closes
- Updated:
-
Stanley Cup 2024 Stanley Cup Champion - ONLY BET ONE TEAMWagers: 5Staked: $6,675.00Event closes- Updated: