Sam Gagner arrived at a low point for the Detroit Red Wings, and the growth he has seen over the past two years has him optimistic about next season.
He just hopes he’s a part of it.
Gagner is on a nice roll headed into Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, one of three remaining at Little Caesars Arena. He has four goals in three games, helping the Wings go 2-0-1.
“The main thing is trying to help this group get better and that’s been my mindset all year,” Gagner said Monday. “In order to do that, though, you have to put your game on the ice and you have to make sure that you’re leading by example. I try to have the same mindset every night. It’s not always going to to the way you want, but for the most part, I’ve felt pretty good about where my game has been at most of the year.”
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Gagner has been with the Wings since February of 2020, when he was part of Steve Yzerman’s first trade deadline as general manager of the Wings. Yzerman sent underperforming forward Andreas Athanasiou and minor-leaguer Ryan Kuffner to the Edmonton Oilers for second-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and Gagner. (The 2020 pick indirectly yielded Theodor Niederbach, and the 2021 pick was used to trade for Nick Leddy.) Gagner appeared in six games, and the Wings were 17-49-5 when the NHL ended the season early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wings (28-34-10) are out of the playoffs again this spring, but Gagner likes what he has seen, and that has weighed into why he’s wanted to stay rather than pursue a role with a team chasing the Stanley Cup.
“Winning the Cup is a really hard thing to do, a lot of things need to go right,” Gagner said. “But I think the way we’re building, there’s a chance that we’re a playoff team next year. I like the fact that I’ve been a part of helping this team grow, and I’d like to be around for when it turns and be a part of helping that. Playing in this market, where hockey matters, there’s a rich history, it’s a great team to play for, and a great group of guys. Hopefully I can be around for a little bit longer.”
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Gagner will be 33 next season. He has 12 goals among 28 points in 71 games, which is quality production considering he plays around 13 minutes a game and only sees spot duty on power plays. He’s a good two-way player and a boon on the penalty kill, where his offensive savvy (he was the No. 6 pick in the 2007 draft) has led to scoring chances.
“Sam has done a great job here of redefining himself and becoming a really good defensive player,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He thinks he’s got more offense to offer, and he’s kind of proven some of that right. I think the fact he’s got the number he’s got, having spent most of the time in not great offensive situations, that’s a huge plus for your hockey team – that you can have depth of scoring without having to have 18 minutes of ice time, without having to be on the power play, without having to play with the top offensive players on your team.”
Gagner’s value exceeds what he contributes on the ice. He’s a leader, a guy who, when the Wings recently had to dig themselves out of a six-game skid, sent a message that, “when it’s going bad, it’s easy to place blame, it’s easy to deflect, it’s easy to get a little bit ‘woe is me’ and feel sorry for yourself a bit,” Blashill said. ” Sam’s experience and who he is as a person can help in those situations to one, say look in the mirror and two, talk about opportunities that you have ahead of you every day and how important those are. When you have the perspective of having gone through a lot of situations like Sam has, as well as the intelligence to help verbalize that to his teammates, it’s a real impact.”
Yzerman already has extended Gagner twice on one-year, $850,000 deals. Gagner has this season the contributions are still there. Gagner has made it clear to management he’d like to stay another season and be a part of what he sees as a brighter future.
“We still have a lot of room for growth, but I think for the most part, we’ve had younger players step into big roles and done a pretty good job of that,” Gagner said. “We just have to keep building and keep sustaining that consistency level. But I like where the growth is at and I think we’re going to continue to build here.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.