Canucks Player Recap: Sam Gagner

Who?

Sam Gagner

Born: August 10th, 1989, London, Ontario

Position: Center Shoots: Right

Drafted: 6th overall in the 2007 draft by the Edmonton Oilers

Career Statistics:

It was only one year ago when Sam Gagner tallied up 50 points. After dropping that total by nearly 20 points, is Gagner declining? Let’s get in to what Gagner has and what he can work on, if he wants to hold his 3 million dollar value.

Power-Play. That’s what I think of when I hear Sam Gagner’s name. Well, 3 goals on the PP isn’t going to cut it. Is it because of the surrounding pieces? That, we don’t quite know but Gagner isn’t getting any younger. He still has great hands, tunnel vision, and easily finds the open man almost every opportunity he gets. We have seen Gagner play a little bit on the wing throughout his career, and was roughly 47% in the face-off circle this year. So why is Gagner slowing down?

Crtiqued for his play along the boards has always surrounded Gagner. His small statue at 5’11”, 200 lbs, certainly doesn’t help. I wanted to see Gagner shoot more, but when your shooting percentage is 6.1, maybe it was best to not see him wire one. All in all, Gagner has always been inconsistent, so he may come out and repeat his 2016 season, or put up 5 goals next season. I don’t see a whole lot more coming from Gagner in the future. He only has 2 years left to show what he's got.

Jussi Jokinen only played 14 games with the Canucks last season, generating 10 points. He is now a UFA and should be calling it a career anytime soon.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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