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Fan favourite Sam Gagner getting a chance to play for the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final?
It would blow the lid off of Edmonton’s downtown arena the second Gagner got his first shift.
But is there any chance it will happen?
“Never say never,” said the team’s ultimate insider, announcer Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now on Wednesday evening.
I’m latching on to Stauffer’s words like a life preserver in the Arctic Ocean, even as Stauffer repeatedly made it clear on the show that seeing three-time Oiler Gagner in the line-up was an unlikely scenario.
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Asked by one caller why the Oilers haven’t considered Gagner, Stauffer said, “Well, you know what? He hasn’t played much, right? The 17th or the 18th (of April) I think he drew into one or both of those (final regular season) games. He hasn’t played since. I just think it’s a long shot. But you never know. I guess, never say never. How is that? I would be surprised if we would see Gagner play in the series only because he hasn’t played for two months.”
Earlier in the show, Stauffer’s wingman Brenden Escott said Oilers fans want to see a change in the bottom part of the line-up for Game 3. “Sam Gagner is being floated as an option.”
“I don’t see it,” Stauffer said.
“Raphael Lavoie is being floated,” Escott said. “There are some ‘Hail Mary’ ideas going on.”
My take
1. Two things can be true at once. One, there’s almost no chance that Sam Gagner will get a game in the Stanley Cup Final. Two, if Gagner did get a game in Edmonton, an already berserk crowd would lose their minds and Gagner himself would have an out-of-this-world game, giving more to the Oilers than we’ve seen from several other forwards.
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2. Sam Gagner got limited minutes for the Oilers this year but when he did play he put up points at the rate of a top-line forward. That’s right, he racked them up like a someone worthy of a few shifts with Connor McDavid.
3. Gagner had 2.06 points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, good for 91st in the NHL out of 460 forwards who played at least 200 minutes even strength.
He put up points at a greater rate than players like Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, Corey Perry, Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway.
4. Given Corey Perry’s slow pace of play, I’d prefer to see Gagner over Perry. If Evander Kane is good to go, I’d prefer him over either of them. But if it’s between Perry and Gagner, why not see if Gagner can get in there, throw some hits, blast some shots and maybe get a goal? Perry has yet to get one in 14 playoff games.
4. It’s fair to point out that Gagner started hot and then cooled off, and that he didn’t look great in his final game with the Oilers. He got banged up and seem to loose his mojo this season. He played his way out of favour with the current coaching staff. He had just nine points in 15 games for Bakersfield in the AHL. He hasn’t played in two months.
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But he’s been on the ice practicing. He should be in shape. And this is a team that has scored just one goal in two games against Florida. In the regular season, Gagner not only put up points at a decent rate, he played the best defence of his career. He’ll find a way to score on Bobrovsky, be it from centre ice or behind the net. He’ll hit like he’s a young Mike Tyson. He’ll defend like it was his last chance to get it right.
Why not bet on Sam Gagner?
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