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Does the Sam Gagner demotion make the Canucks look bad?


cuporbust

Sam Gagner   

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2 hours ago, cuporbust said:

Hey guys . Just curious if anyone thinks the Sam Gagner demotion may have an effect on future UFA's view of our organization? 

 

My view is let the best players play . Sam was not the best player , so let him sit . However,  other players have taken notice of this decision.  ....

 

When Gagner settled on a move to Toronto, rather than heading to the Canucks’ affiliate in Utica, N.Y., Tavares was among the first of his old teammates to reach out and offer him a place to stay.

“We’re still extremely close. Our families spend time together. I’ve got to know his two young boys and his wife really well. I was definitely really, really surprised, especially after the commitment Vancouver made to him last summer and the way he was feeling coming into this summer,” Tavares said.

 

 

Thoughts ?

If anything, it makes the Canucks look very good by sending to his hometown to play, rather than Utica

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This may have been mentioned before...

 

I recall a Canucks TV episode last year, when Gagner was being interviewed about who plays the music in the room. Del Zotto, apparently, took this on himself and plays a variety of music, mostly hip hop I believe. And Gagner (being a country music fan) was complaining about it in the interview. He comes across like a whiner, and someone who complains a lot, or is sarcastic. I wonder if his attitude (in addition to lack of effort) got him demoted. Don't need any toxicity in the room, especially with the young guys coming up. Anyway, it sounds like Gagner is still whining.

 

The Canucks do seem like a confident bunch this year, I see the effort every game, players are really battling. Coach Green has them all on the same page.   

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Let's just say that I would not be surprised if Benning considered buying out Gagner this summer. I have made no secret I am simply not a fan.

 

I think looking at the numbers it didn't make sense to take the hit for 4 years so they punted the buyout to next year. That way Gagner's buyout comes off the books in time for Petterson's extension. 

 

No doubt this doesn't look so great around the league among players and agents like SID alluded but I am not so sure Benning cares too much anymore. We are hopefully on our way to create our own pool of talent and now with the signings that we made this year, we have no need to chase after the likes of Sam Gagner anymore. I think the Canucks are only interested in big game hunting at this point and I am sure the likes of Karlsson don't give a rat's posterior about Sam Gagner and his "situation". 

 

It is funny though that the media did not give the plight of Milan Michalek, Brooks Laich, Colin Greening, etc nearly as much attention. 

 

Does Gagner actually have a grievance if what I suspect is true? Its tough to say. Its possible that Gagner would have still been given a shot to prove his worth in a place like Columbus but his contract gets in the way of that. His agent has probably had such conversations around the league. If I were Gagner I would be fearing for my survival in the NHL right about now. There is an influx of young talent in the league right now and the further removed you are the more likely you are to be passed over. But Gagner is far from the first nor the last player who will be in the same situation. It actually used to happen more in the older CBA due to the salary "burying".

 

Also Tavares and Gagner go a long ways back so I don't read too much into that. 

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1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Maybe Toronto wants to trade for Gagner now that Matthews' is out for a couple of months, so that Sam and John get to play together and lead Leafs nation to another first round exit.

Tavares to Dubas: "Hey, I signed on at a discount for this Shamaplan, so you get my boy Sam here pronto.  I don't care what it costs you.  You still haven't got Nylander signed and now Matthews is out, so get it done, kiddo."

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36 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said:

If any player doesn't play up to the expectations they set for themselves by their play prior to signing, why is it on the team?   Tavares is saying all the right things but if he was zero points at this stage in Toronto and minus 15 or similar, would he expect the Leafs to just keep rolling him out there?   

He should move(him & his clan!) to the capital of...Columbia!

 

Medellin..it's called.

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2 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Can't help thinking back to TO/lackey media meddling when we tried to deal Lou, at a TDL. We had a legit team of stars back then, & they were always dog meat. So they looked at other ways to meddle.

 

I can imagine an Ontarian outcry/gnashing of teeth if any Van player commented on Hogtown manoeuvres, & hope our boys are smart enough to never bother with that shyte. Doubt the media would ever provide a necc platform, if any grievance were legitimate & newsworthy, anywhoo...

You mean like a certain defenceman claimed off waivers from Vancouver and was relegated to the minors? 

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From a hockey standpoint, I don't think Gagner's demotion looked bad on the Canucks.  As others have said, it was hard to justify giving Gagner a roster spot as his play during the preseason was just average and there has been the ongoing problem with his skill set not really fitting anywhere in the line-up (except, perhaps, on the PP).

 

Gagner's comments after his demotion that he would have thought his past play would have factored into the decision makes sense from his perspective but it's hard to fault the Canucks on this from a hockey standpoint.  I'm sure players do get a pass for some things based on their past history but it's not entirely clear who would have been cut besides him.  He didn't play well enough to justify a top-6 position and Pettersson's arrival would have held him back to the 2nd PP unit at most.  His skill set throughout his career has also not really been well suited to a bottom-6 position even if he enjoyed his most recent success while playing 4th-line minutes in CBJ the season he was signed by the Canucks.  I suppose you could say that Gagner may have outplayed Leipsic but I'm not sure I would say it was by a large margin.  Motte played too well in the preseason to be cut from a hockey standpoint so that squeezed Gagner out.

 

Hockey aside however, I can see why there might be some lingering ill will toward the Canucks' management that may impact UFAs in the future.  I'm sure no player takes being cut and demoted that well.  I think this just highlights that it wasn't a great signing to begin with however.  I don't think fans would have minded the salary so much if it had been a 1-year deal.  I can see how being offered a 3-year deal would have made Gagner feel like there was a degree of job security and I can totally understand that being a big deal for him.  For Gagner to be cut and demoted after 1-year isn't a great look for the Canucks even if Gagner's play wasn't stellar.

 

As with most things, both sides bear responsibility in the situation.  Gagner probably should have tried to adjust his game in pre-season to suit what the team needed but I don't really fault Gagner too much since he was pretty much a known quantity at the time that he was signed and it's not likely that a player would change all that much at his age.

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2 hours ago, cuporbust said:

Hey guys . Just curious if anyone thinks the Sam Gagner demotion may have an effect on future UFA's view of our organization? 

 

My view is let the best players play . Sam was not the best player , so let him sit . However,  other players have taken notice of this decision.  ....

 

When Gagner settled on a move to Toronto, rather than heading to the Canucks’ affiliate in Utica, N.Y., Tavares was among the first of his old teammates to reach out and offer him a place to stay.

“We’re still extremely close. Our families spend time together. I’ve got to know his two young boys and his wife really well. I was definitely really, really surprised, especially after the commitment Vancouver made to him last summer and the way he was feeling coming into this summer,” Tavares said.

 

 

Thoughts ?

Tavares and Gagner are best friends. Tavares, of course, is going to have his buddy's back. I mean, Gagner was Tavares's best man. So this quote is full of bias since Tavares is commented about his buddy to Scott Wheeler. You'd probably say similar things if you were in Tavares's situation.

 

But it should be a reminder to players that just because you get a fat contract doesn't mean you're guaranteed an NHL spot. You should, in theory, have one but if you get lazy you get waived. Gagner isn't in a unique situation. This has happened before to guys ranging from Wade Redden to Colin Greening. It's just unique that he got sent to the Marlies instead of the Comets.

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3 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

I do think the Gagner situation will have some impact on future UFAs. Just based off some of the quotes we've seen from players, agents, and managers, it's clear that many folks around the NHL don't like seeing what's happened to Gagner and feel that he deserves better. I don't necessarily agree with them, but I also won't deny that the sentiment is out there, and likely to affect us, at least to some degree.

 

 

If those GMs around the league felt like he deserves better, why not call up Benning and see what it would take to acquire him to bring him to their NHL team? Surely a conditional pick wouldn't hurt?

 

Since he has yet to be traded to another team, do the other GMs REALLY feel that bad? Nope. Just means they won't touch him with a 10ft pole and are only saying that they feel bad for him so as to not put a spotlight on them for not saying anything

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It shows that just because you’re a veteran that has played for a while in the NHL does not guarantee a roster spot.

 

It also shows that maybe he should re-evaluate his game and compete level as when he went on waivers NO ONE claimed him. 

 

It is called waking up and smelling the coffee. 

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