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Sam Gagner, why the hate?


HKSR

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Just out of curiosity, why is there so much negativity around Gagner?  I'm not sure what you expect from a player with a $3.15M cap hit.

 

He put up 10 goals and 31 points in 73 games last season.  For players making between 3M and 3.5M, he was 3rd, trailing only Josh Bailey and Charlie Coyle.

 

If he was making $4M+, then yes, I can understand... but for $3.15M, I'm not sure you can expect much more than 25 to 30 points per season...

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Gagner is given an offensive role.  He is one vet, who could be taking minutes from a young guy.  I’d much rather watch Dahlen in that role, providing he’s ready.  For certain Goldy could fill that role.  

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He is wildly inconsistent. He disappears for long stretches. He reminds me of Chris Higgins. But at least with Higgy we had memories of when he first joined the club and was good. No such memories of Gagner.

 

Yes he put up 10 goals and 31 points. Can you remember anyone of them? Did any of them make a difference? I literally have no memory of him playing for us yet you say he played 73 games.

 

He's like the plant in the corner of your house. Does nothing but he's physically there.

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He looked indifferent a lot of the time last season.  My main objection is he's not good enough to play in the top 6, but he's too soft and weak defensively to play in the bottom 6.  He's a pretty good bet to lose his job to one of the kids though.  He will be decent Utica depth if all goes well.

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1 minute ago, nuckin_futz said:

He is wildly inconsistent. He disappears for long stretches. He reminds me of Chris Higgins. But at least with Higgy we had memories of when he first joined the club and was good. No such memories of Gagner.

 

Yes he put up 10 goals and 31 points. Can you remember anyone of them? Did any of them make a difference? I litteraly have no memory of him playing for us and like you say he played 73 games.

 

He's like the plant in the corner of your house. Does nothing but he's physically there.

Higgins was also a LOT better away from the puck and on the defensive end than Gagner.  Gagner's too small to be a physical presence, not fast enough nor tenacious enough to be effective as forechecker and well... he just doesn't bring all that much to the table. 

 

I'm almost certain he loses his spot on the roster to one of the kids coming up and there are multiple candidates who could do so.

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26 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Just out of curiosity, why is there so much negativity around Gagner?  I'm not sure what you expect from a player with a $3.15M cap hit.

 

He put up 10 goals and 31 points in 73 games last season.  For players making between 3M and 3.5M, he was 3rd, trailing only Josh Bailey and Charlie Coyle.

 

If he was making $4M+, then yes, I can understand... but for $3.15M, I'm not sure you can expect much more than 25 to 30 points per season...

I don't get it either. He's producing what should be expected for a $3mx 3 year player. He's here to literally be a warm body so a prospect or a Megna  doesn't have to deal with playing above their heads, until he's no longer required. Nobody's trying to sell him as a super-awesome top 6 guy (nor is he being paid to be one).

 

IMO, it's some people's entirely out of whack expectations.

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13 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said:

He is wildly inconsistent. He disappears for long stretches. He reminds me of Chris Higgins. But at least with Higgy we had memories of when he first joined the club and was good. No such memories of Gagner.

 

Yes he put up 10 goals and 31 points. Can you remember anyone of them? Did any of them make a difference? I literally have no memory of him playing for us yet you say he played 73 games.

 

He's like the plant in the corner of your house. Does nothing but he's physically there.

Higgins was good defensively Gagner is average at best defensively. 

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Because he takes up a roster spot that most Canucks would prefer to give to a prospect. If all he's bringing is 30ish points as an offensive forward, one might as well roll the dice on a rookie. I have a feeling it will be one of Gaudette or Gagner who gets sent down to Utica (or traded in Gagner's case). 

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I think people can be pretty harsh.  To be fair though, yes there are definitely moments where he needs to make a better play, but I wouldnt ever doubt the guy's effort level.  When people can barely move it usually means they're exhausted.  I just hope he has a better season next year.

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8 minutes ago, aGENT said:

I don't get it either. He's producing what should be expected for a $3mx 3 year player. He's here to literally be a warm body so a prospect or a Megna  doesn't have to deal with playing above their heads, until he's no longer required. Nobody's trying to sell him as a super-awesome top 6 guy (nor is he being paid to be one).

 

IMO, it's some people's entirely out of whack expectations.

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, it's got nothing to do with his point production; it's his play (or lack thereof) without the puck.  He's ill-suited for a bottom-six role and doesn't kill penalties, yet can't really contribute adequately to fill a top-six role, even if he's only making $3M/yr.  Basically, he's kind of a minimum requirement NHLer that the kids have to prove to be better than (and as I've said elsewhere, it shouldn't be that hard for some of the kids to exceed)

 

Edit: as others have already said, it's not "hate"--it's just the sense that one of the kids could do better than him and should have his spot

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26 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Just out of curiosity, why is there so much negativity around Gagner?  I'm not sure what you expect from a player with a $3.15M cap hit.

 

He put up 10 goals and 31 points in 73 games last season.  For players making between 3M and 3.5M, he was 3rd, trailing only Josh Bailey and Charlie Coyle.

 

If he was making $4M+, then yes, I can understand... but for $3.15M, I'm not sure you can expect much more than 25 to 30 points per season...

Nice find about the stats, certainly puts it into perspective. I think most, including myself, has the expectation of him being a 40-50 point guy based on history. However points aren't everything. He is listed as being a center, but is very weak in that position. He isn't big enough to play a physical role, although he had games with some tenacity. He's not a PK guy and for a guy that looked to produce in Columbus on the PP, he didn't look like much of a threat there. I think it's uncertain what his role would be, but I think it's best to try and boost his value and move him this season if possible.

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I wouldn't say that I dislike Gagner.  Gagner's a very skilled guy and he's a fairly versatile player.

 

The issues with Gagner on this team include his roster position potentially taking away a spot from a younger prospect (which is less of an issue IMHO because he should be relatively easy to trade) but also that:

 

  1. his skillset just doesn't seem to have much of a place on this team.  He's a natural center but he is terrible at faceoffs and has found more success in this league while playing wing.  He's got good puck skills but that hasn't translated to the degree that was hoped for when he was drafted;
     
  2. he's not a physical player, even if he showed some feistiness last season.  That's not really his game and he does not play that way consistently;
     
  3. his defensive game is not very strong, even if it might have improved over the years; and
     
  4. he has never struck me as a fast player.  He's got lightning quick hands but he doesn't seem to have that extra gear or quick step to give himself more time at the NHL level.

 

Gagner's a far better player than I'll ever be but I just don't see how he fits onto the current team or future iterations of the Canucks.

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34 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Just out of curiosity, why is there so much negativity around Gagner?  I'm not sure what you expect from a player with a $3.15M cap hit.

 

He put up 10 goals and 31 points in 73 games last season.  For players making between 3M and 3.5M, he was 3rd, trailing only Josh Bailey and Charlie Coyle.

 

If he was making $4M+, then yes, I can understand... but for $3.15M, I'm not sure you can expect much more than 25 to 30 points per season...

Well worded post. It does put Gagner into perspective for me with the salaries / production numbers. 

 

I don't hate Gagner either. He was kinda needed when we picked him up. But he is kinda vanilla....a middling player that is small and has no special attributes that make him stand out such as excellent speed or hits like a truck. But if he did, he would have cost alot more. 

 

He did fill a role to a degree but we may have enough depth now that I don't know how much longer he should be around. The fact that he can play centre is his saving grace at the moment in case of injuries. I think that if he was just a winger he would be gone for sure this fall.

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Coach Green gave him far too much ice team and in many positive situations to put up greater numbers and amazingly Green didn't relent is where my issue is with Gagner.

 

Put a kid in there and have him put up 25 or 20 pts.rather Gagner's 31 pts. I would much prefer seeing the young man building confidence and his game for the future.

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