Money is tight around the NHL. But a desire to upgrade remains rampant, and at some point in this NHL season, just as in every other NHL season, a GM's desire to remain fiscally solvent will eventually be overridden by his desire to win (save his job). At that point, deals come and players you once thought would never, could never be traded wind up in some far-flung reach of the professional hockey world. Such is the fate that may very well be awaiting Philadelphia Flyers forward Sam Gagner.
Gagner, acquired by the Flyers and GM Ron Hextall as part of the deal that saw the Nicklas Grossmann and Chris Pronger contracts finally shed from the Philadelphia ledger, has mostly been a disappointment - again - this season, his first in orange and black. As a result, Gagner was placed on waivers and sent to the club's AHL affiliate after his return from an extended injury absence two weeks ago.
While Gagner remains a difficult commodity to move, considering his $4.8 million cap hit and the fact that Hextall, like most of the league's GM's, would prefer to ship out his contract without taking on another unwieldy pact, there is interest in the London, Ontario native, per Frank Seravalli of TSN.
Of course, shipping out Gagner will mean eating a portion of that $4.8 million, which as Seravalli suggests, may prove the ultimate hurdle to a deal. Gagner, despite his issues and inconsistency, has notched 295 points in 481 NHL games, since entering the league at 18 with the Edmonton Oilers.
Interestingly, Gagner may prove to be a fit for a playoff-bound team not as a center, but as a wing. It would certainly make good use of his talents while avoiding his 45.2 career faceoff percentage.
The 26-year-old Gagner was shipped to the AHL in large part because R.J. Umberger, another aging, expensive veteran with limited upside at this point, apparently has a no-move clause. While Hextall would, no doubt, prefer to see Umberger or Vinny Lecavalier shipped elsewhere, it sounds like Gagner's still got enough interest that that's the more likely deal to get done ahead of the trade deadline.
