Sam Gagner extended in Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Saturday that they have come to terms on a one-year, $850,000 extension with journeyman forward Sam Gagner.

The 31-year-old was originally acquired by the Red Wings, along with two second round draft picks from the Edmonton Oilers in the Andreas Athanasiou deal in February, prior to the NHL's decision to pause the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gagner was drafted by Edmonton in the first round (6th overall) in 2007 and had spent most of his career with the Oilers organization before spending some time in Arizona, Columbus, Philadelphia and Vancouver.

The London, Ontario native hit a career high 50 points with the Blue Jackets in 2016-17, and matched a previous career high 18 goals in the same season. Gagner has 459 points in 844 career NHL games.

The move is a smart one for Gagner, as the Red Wings are very much in the process of a total rebuild, which should land the veteran forward a fair bit of ice time and a chance to prove that he still has a lot to offer at the NHL level. If he manages to put up respectable numbers, it's not out of the question that we could see Gagner flipped at the deadline to a contender who may be looking for some organizational depth centre or wing for a playoff run.

Source: NHL.com

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