For Those Of You Who Feel Sam Gagner Could Be Traded

by Jonathan Willis on Mar 4, 2009 7:51 AM MST

For the record, I like Sam Gagner. I think his season this year has been better overall than last, even if the points totals aren't as impressive.

In any case, I thought it would be a fun exercise to compare Gagner's first two seasons with those of another player who we're all familiar with.

Sam Gagner, 18: 79GP - 13G - 36A - 49PTS, -21
Ales Hemsky, 19: 59GP - 6G - 24A - 30PTS, +5

Sam Gagner, 19: 57GP - 7G - 16A - 23PTS, -3
Ales Hemsky, 20: 71GP - 12G - 22A - 34PTS, -7

It's worth noting that Hemsky's teams were superior; thus the gap in +/- is not nearly as close as it appears season over season. In fact, his -7 as a 20-year old was the worst number on the team.

Sam Gagner, Totals: 136GP - 20G - 52A - 72PTS, -24
Ales Hemsky, Totals: 130GP - 18G - 46A - 64PTS, -2

I really don't see much to chose from there. When you consider too that Sam Gagner did it a full year younger than Hemsky (which matters, believe me), it's even more impressive.

Sam Gagner's not going anywhere. That's how it should be.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

With Gagner I think that for the most part the effort has been there but a lot of nights that the puck hasn't gone in. This isn't something I want to put up with for another five years but he's 19 so I'll give him a pass for now.

There is no way anyone can objectively look at his play over the last two seasons and not see his upside. He's going to be a very good player in this league in not too long of a time. Fans here just need to relax a little bit and let it happen.

by ryanbatty on Mar 4, 2009 8:46 AM MST reply actions

nice to see all the posts here. I've never cared for Oilers Nation but really enjoyed your writing and was one of the many that continually came back to your site in the hopes that it would be resurrected.

by Robert Blizzard on Mar 4, 2009 9:11 PM MST reply actions

Gagner's numbers will be fine when his SP regresses to the all-knowing mean.

There are some fun numbers there too - his shots per game are up from 1.70 to 1.98 and he's running at 2.54 over the last 11 games. If he keeps increasing his shooting numbers and regresses in SP, there are your 20 goals.

As hard as I've been on the coach and how he's handled him and on the blind drop pass to the other team for the GWG, he's only looked overmatched a couple of times out there. It hasn't helped that his twatwaffle coach can't find him some steady linemates.

by Coach pb9617 on Mar 5, 2009 1:20 AM MST reply actions

Coach: With any luck, the lines will stabilize with these trades.

We'll see.

by Jonathan Willis on Mar 5, 2009 8:03 AM MST reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Northwest Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	54	34	15	5	73
Colorado Mile High Hockey	56	28	25	3	59
Minnesota Hockey Wilderness	54	25	21	8	58
Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	55	25	22	8	58
Edmonton The Copper & Blue	54	21	28	5	47

(updated 2.11.2012 at 6:02 AM MST)

22 - 28 - 5

Streak: Won 1

Oilers Schedule

Next 5 Games

Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Wed 02/15	8:00 PM MST
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Fri 02/17	7:30 PM MST
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	Sun 02/19	7:00 PM MST
@ Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	Tue 02/21	7:00 PM MST
Philadelphia Broad Street Hockey	Thu 02/23	7:30 PM MST

Last 5 Games

@ Ottawa Silver Seven	Sat 02/11	OT - W 4 - 3
@ Detroit Winging It In Motown	Wed 02/08	L 2 - 4
@ Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Mon 02/06	L 3 - 6
Detroit Winging It In Motown	Sat 02/04	SO - W 5 - 4
Chicago Second City Hockey	Thu 02/02	W 8 - 4