Edmonton Oilers sign Sam Gagner to one-year, two-way contract

Sam Gagner is officially back for his third tour of duty as an Edmonton Oiler.

The veteran forward signed a one-year, two-way contract with the club worth the league minimum of $775k in the NHL.

The 34-year-old came to training camp with the Oilers on a professional tryout contract after undergoing hip surgery over the off-season. He didn’t play any games with the team during the pre-season and got up to speed playing on a tryout contract in the American Hockey League. Over three games with the Bakersfield Condors in October, Gagner scored one goal and recorded five points.

Heading down to Bakersfield to open salary cap room for Gagner is Adam Erne, another forward who signed with the Oilers after coming to camp on a tryout contract. Edmonton’s third and fourth lines have contributed virtually nothing offensively and head coach Jay Woodcroft said: “Erne is paying the price for the group that hasn’t produced. We need more from our bottom-five [forwards].”

The Oilers selected Gagner with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft and he broke into the NHL as an 18-year-old with 13 goals and 49 points. He spent seven years with the Oilers before getting traded in a three-team deal ahead of the 2014-15 season.

Gagner made stops with the Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Vancouver Canucks before getting traded back to Edmonton during the 2018-19 season in exchange for Ryan Spooner. He was again traded the following season, this time to the Detroit Red Wings as part of the return for Andreas Athanasiou.

Most recently, Gagner spent the 2022-23 season with the Winnipeg Jets, where he suited up in the 1,000th NHL game of his career. Gagner scored eight goals and 14 points over 48 games with the Jets before his season ultimately came to an end in late February because of injury.