A former Edmonton Oiler has signed a professional tryout with an American Hockey League team.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that fan-favourite of Oilers fans, Sam Gagner, signed a professional tryout with the Belleville Senators of the AHL. It was later announced by the team.
Gagner was selected sixth overall by the Oilers in the 2007 draft. In his first of three stints, he scored 101 goals and 295 points in 481 games, which included a franchise record-tying eight-point night during the 2011-12 season. In the summer of 2014, Gagner was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Teddy Purcell, with the Lightning immediately flipping him to the Arizona Coyotes.
That started the journeyman portion of his career, playing 296 games with the Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vancouver Canucks, scoring 52 goals and 90 points. In 2016-17 with the Blue Jackets, the centre scored a career-high 18 goals and 50 points.
In Feb. 2019, the Oilers traded Ryan Spooner to the Canucks to reacquire Gagner, with the veteran finishing his season scoring five goals and 10 points in 25 games. Starting the 2019-20 season with the Oilers, he scored five goals and 12 points in 36 games before they traded him before the 2020 trade deadline for Andreas Athanasiou, giving up two second-round picks as well.
Gagner played six games with the Wings in 2019-20 before the pandemic, where he scored a goal. Over his next three seasons, two with the Wings and one with the Winnipeg Jets, he scored 28 goals and 60 points in 171 games.
Before the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Gagner signed a professional tryout with the Oilers, eventually making their team where he scored five goals and 10 points in 28 games. His first game back since 2020 saw him record two goals in a near comeback against the Dallas Stars.
This season has been a whirlwind for Gagner. Before the start of the season, he signed a professional tryout with the Carolina Hurricanes but failed to make the team. He captained Team Canada in the 2024 Spengler Cup, where he had an assist in three games as Canada lost in the semifinal game.
Gagner is set to play his first game for the AHL Senators on Friday night. Hopefully, there’s a pathway back to the National Hockey League for the 35-year-old.
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