Sam Gagner hopes to rejoin the Edmonton Oilers

This year's trade deadline was a tough day for veteran NHL forward Sam Gagner, as he was dealt from the Edmonton Oilers to the dead last Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Andreas Athanasiou.

It was Gagner's second stint with the Oilers, as he played the first seven seasons of his career after being selected 6th overall by them at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. After that seventh season, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning who then immediately traded him to the Arizona Coyotes. He then went on to have stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Vancouver Canucks before being traded by the Canucks back to Edmonton during the 2018-19 season.

He has said many times how much he has enjoyed both tenures with the Oilers, despite the team's struggles for the majority of the time he has been with them. He echoed those same sentiments recently on the Real Life Podcast.

“I really enjoyed being an Oiler and who knows what can happen in the future, right?” Gagner said.

It would be interesting to see whether or not the Oilers would be able to bring Gagner back into the fold given their current cap situation along with how many contracts they already have going into next season. He doesn't bring as much in offence as he used to, scoring just five goals and 12 points in 36 games with the Oilers and one goal in six games with the Red Wings.

The one big asset he would give the Oilers is experience, as he has already logged 844 games in the NHL at just 31 years of age. With the COVID-19 situation going on, we won't have answers on this for a while, but by many accounts, Gagner is very well liked in the Oilers dressing room so perhaps general manager Ken Holland is able to make something work.

shownhl_5146_shownhl

MUST READ

57 minutes ago  |  By Skyler Walker New report reveals who drove the Kris Knoblauch firing decision in Edmonton

1 hour ago  |  By Skyler Walker A young Canadiens forward admits he is ready to leave the organization in the middle of the playoffs

2 hours ago  |  By Skyler Walker A former player reveals the three Canadiens players he would trade for Connor McDavid, including Jakub Dobes

6 hours ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Imminent NHL decision will hit millions of fans harder than expected

7 hours ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Reputable insider confirms a big blue line trade is brewing between Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs

7 hours ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Truth behind Tortorella's controversial actions is out and it's worse than anyone thought

8 hours ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Per Dreger, the Oilers are eyeing 2 big-name coaches but fans aren't impressed at all

9 hours ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Western team is making a second push for Robert Thomas after deadline miss

MORE STORIES