Columbus Signs Sam Gagner to a One-Year Deal

steve laidlaw

2016-08-01

Fantasy Impact: The Columbus Blue Jackets sign free agent forward Sam Gagner to a one-year contract.

The Blue Jackets get: A once-hyped veteran centerman who has failed to live up to his potential across many NHL stops.

Fantasy Players Impacted: This is technically a positive for Gagner as he has not only managed to land another NHL gig but finds himself on a team without a bonafide #1 center. However, Gagner’s extensive history suggests that even if things work out perfectly, he will max out below the 50-point mark.

Instead, what Gagner’s presence does is muddy the waters for Columbus’ youth movement. Oliver Bjorkstrand left an impression with a 12-game cameo in which he scored eight points. Bjorkstrand likely remains on the wing but he nonetheless has a little more competition.

Columbus has also had Boone Jenner playing a fair amount of center over the past couple of seasons. Bringing in Gagner opens up the possibility of moving Jenner to wing full time, which clogs the pecking order already stocked with Brandon Saad, Matt Calvert, Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno and Scott Hartnell (though Hartnell remains trade bait). Bjorkstrand could find himself outside the top nine if Jenner is on the wing full-time.

Bjorkstrand should be considered too good to be kept down but this is a team coached by John Tortorella so we have to throw notions of talent out the window.

Alexander Wennberg has been making strides at the center position the past couple of seasons but now has more competition. He did not appear ready to breakout, however, so the addition of Gagner may not be that much of a hindrance.

The Blue Jackets made waves at the draft by bucking the consensus and selecting Pierre-Luc Dubois with the third pick, presumably to be their centerman of the future. Adding Gagner makes it all the more unlikely Dubois jumps to the NHL this season. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Dubois’ development as rushing him to play hero for a struggling club could set him back long term. Still, fantasy owners generally benefit when their prospects make the leap sooner than expected and Gagner’s signing reduces that possibility.

Read more on Bjorkstrand here.

Read more on Dubois here.

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Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

Sam Gagner

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

Alexander Wennberg

Oliver Bjorkstrand

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Sergei Bobrovsky

8 Comments

  1. Rick Roos 2016-08-01 at 11:12

    Everyone in the Columbus organization from the top all the way down loves Wennberg. Gagner will do nothing to change that. If anything, I like that the move will have the perceived aspect of reducing Wennberg’s value, making it all the easier to land him for less.

    Oh, and Wennberg not ready to break out? I’d call 39 points in his final 54 games kind of already a breakout of sorts, especially given his ice time and utilization.

    • steve laidlaw 2016-08-01 at 12:33

      Maybe I am underrating Wennberg but I am not a big fan.

      • Rick Roos 2016-08-01 at 13:48

        Fan or not, what does 39 points in 54 games at age 21 and without truly top ice means equate to, if not a breakout of sorts?

        And whether you like Wennberg or not (and I can totally respect that you don’t), is that a reason to surmise Gagner’s signing will negatively impact him? Wouldn’t it be best for poolies reading this summary for you to look at this without factoring in subjective bias?

        • steve laidlaw 2016-08-01 at 15:33

          I’m not a fan because I don’t think he’ll be a super-productive player not because of some bias towards how he plays. He’s a fine player. Not a fan of the fantasy asset.

          • Rick Roos 2016-08-02 at 07:16

            Even still – you’ve not explained how Gagner coming to the team will negatively affect Wennberg. You think Wennberg was not going to be very productive, and it’s not up to me to convince you otherwise. But for those of us who are high on Wennberg, it’s not clear why you’re arguing that Gagner will make Wennberg do worse than he already would’ve had Gagner not been signed to the team.

          • steve laidlaw 2016-08-02 at 07:43

            As it says in the article above, more competition for minutes.

  2. puckman 2016-08-01 at 11:37

    ”The Blue Jackets get: A once-hyped veteran centerman who has failed to live up to his potential across many NHL stops”.
    Sam Gagner gets: hours and hours of intensive ‘chats’, punishment training sessions and bench extensions with the world renown for his warm coaching Torts… in a couple months, extra extra read all about it, Sam Gagner just moved to waivers

  3. Philip 2016-08-01 at 14:45

    I’m curious how you think that this signing can hurt Bobrovsky? I’m not saying that Gagner is a strong defensive player (although he has been on bad defensive teams), so perhaps that is your reasoning?

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