In Case You Forgot, Sam Gagner Has Some Of The Silkiest Hands In The NHL
I’m sure that I’m not the first person to ever think this, nor will I be the last, but the NHL needs to go the way of the MLB and introduce their own version of the DH to the sport.
It’s been a rough-ish go in the NHL for Sam Gagner. After putting up 118 points with the London Knight with Patrick Kane, it looked like he was going to step right in to the NHL and light that shit up as well. Unfortunately, Gagner didn’t have the same fortune as Kane and didn’t get to end up with a dynasty. Instead, he was sent to spend his 7 seasons in the hockey hell that is the Edmonton Oilers (pre-McDavid Era). After he was finally able to make it out of Edmonton, it looked like he was heading to Tampa for a new start. But after only staying there for a cup of coffee, he was sent to Arizona. If Edmonton is Hockey Hell North, Arizona is Hockey Hell South. That’s 8 straight seasons with the worst franchises in the league. He got an opportunity after that with the Flyers but was only able to crack the lineup 53 games last season and it wasn’t enough to bring him back. Which brings us to today.
Sam Gagner is too talented to not have a solidified role/spot on an NHL roster. However, he’s also not quite good enough to be getting top-6 minutes and you can’t throw him on a 4th line and expect him to produce. Which is why the NHL needs to designate a position for guys like Gagner and Linus Omark and TJ Oshie who can murder goaltenders in the shootout, but the rest of their game just isn’t quite there. They dress for every game and you can sub them in for another player if you want, but mostly they are there for the 3-on-3 overtime and shootout. If a game does go into a shootout, you can use them however many times you want to. Also–if there are any penalty shots during the game, you can elect to have your designated shooter take it. I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever come up with and I only have the best ideas. The world deserves more Gagner highlights.