CAN GAGNER SAVE THE SEDINS?
Winger could add some adaptability to twins’ line
Sam Gagner must be important.
There are already suggestions he’ll get a chance to play with the Sedins. Historically, it’s been a thankless job. Just think — in the Sedins’ Players’ Tribune love letter to Vancouver, the only winger who got any sugar is Anson Carter.
Many who read their piece were swept up in the way the Sedins romanticized Vancouver. I got lost thinking about all the local hikes that are so much better than the Grouse Grind and why Alex Burrows wasn’t mentioned.
A few years ago, Radim Vrbata was great with the Sedins — until he wasn’t. When things went sour, he was practically run out of town. He just scored 31 freaking goals. No one cared. These days, picturing someone scoring 31 goals is like picturing a colonized Mars.
Jannik Hansen had a nice run with them, then he was traded.
Last fall, big things were expected of Loui Eriksson. People thought he could hit 30 to 40 goals with the Sedins. No one thinks this anymore. Heck, outside of his cap hit, no one thinks about Eriksson anymore.
So step on up, Sam. There’s lots of reasons to think he can work. For one, he’s among the Canucks’ most offensively gifted forwards. And at 36 years old, the Sedins need all the offensive gifts you can wrap.
Both Vrbata and Eriksson are fairly one-dimensional players. Vrbata is the sniper and Eriksson is the prince of garbage goals — or at least he was until he got to beautiful British Columbia.
Gagner can be much more. In the offensive zone, he’s like Samuel L. Jackson. He’s not elite, but he pops up everywhere.
Need someone to make plays in the slot? He’s done it. Got a spot on the point on the power play open? He can fill it. Looking for a righthanded one-shot scorer to bury one-timers? Been there, done that.
Can he save the Sedins? Well, he’s never scored 20 in a season, but he hit 50 points last year playing mostly on a fourth line. Numbers
like that on the Canucks helped get Bo Horvat US$33 million.
The good news? Gagner is versatile. There isn’t a position up front he’s not comfortable in.
The bad news? Gagner is versatile. In other words, it’s easy to move him around. For example, it would be easy to put Gagner on a fourth line to start the year and let it ride. He crushed this type of deployment in Columbus last year, proving he doesn’t need a lot of even-strength playing time to thrive on the power play. That’s rare.
“It can be tough if you’re not playing a lot and you’re tasked to go out to score a big goal on the power play,” Gagner said.
“It’s not easy to get a feel for the puck and be confident, but with my experience in the league and having been in so many different situations, it helped me settle into that role. I’m comfortable playing in a lot of different roles now.”
For that, he can thank a childhood friend who he played with in minor hockey and on his backyard rink in suburban Ontario.
“I played centre most of my time as a kid,” the 28-year-old said. “But I had a guy by the name of John Tavares on my team. Whenever he needed to get going, I was bumped over to the wing.”
It’s easy look at the Canucks’ depth chart and conclude the deepest lineup you can construct, one that will create at least some matchup issues for opponents, has a scoring fourth line on it, one anchored by Gagner. At the same time, he just signed a three-year deal with the Canucks and the minute he did, he became one of the most dangerous offensive threats on a team desperate for some.
You see the conundrum? His adaptability is a blessing and a curse.
“I think it helps me in some situations, but it also hurts,” Gagner said. “I think when you can get comfortable in a role and have that focus every game — you know you’re in a certain position — it helps. But at the same time, when things do happen over the course of a year, it’s nice to be able to slot in anywhere to help the team out.”
Gagner has definitely thought about playing with the Sedins. It’s a rite of passage for seemingly every offensive-leaning free agent forward who comes to Vancouver.
“When you’re playing with those guys, you have to tend to be more of a shooter,” Gagner said. “But I don’t think (style of play) is something you go in thinking about when you are on the ice with them.
“And if you do think about it, you can get into trouble.”
For a couple years now, the consensus has been the Sedins need a sound defensive forward on their line to succeed. For a couple of years now, they’ve been trending down.
They could use an offensive jump start. Maybe Gagner is it — and if it doesn’t work, there are nine other forward positions for him to try.
It can be tough if you’re not playing a lot and you’re tasked to go out to score a big goal on the power play . ... I’m comfortable playing in a lot of different roles now.