Sam Gagner has been an overachiever for the Detroit Red Wings
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings have gotten production from many players in 2021-22, a season where the offense made some strides in the right direction. One of the unlikely sources of production has been veteran Sam Gagner.
After being acquired via a trade with the Edmonton Oilers, the 32-year-old forward has spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings organization. He’s turned out to be one of the team’s better acquisitions from an overall player standpoint.
He may not be lighting up the scoresheet or adding points at an MVP pace, but he’s been an all-around beneficial player. He’s been great from his boosted scoring in 2021-22 and quality play all around.
Not to mention, he’s been a great player to have around the community and in the locker room, leading by example for some of the younger guys. Especially as a 15-year veteran of the NHL, he has plenty of experience and has been able to share what he’s learned with the Red Wings’ youth.
Detroit Red Wings veteran Sam Gagner has been an unlikely source of offense.
The Red Wings have to be delighted with what they have gotten out of Gagner in his time in Detroit. He is having the best season he’s had since the 2017-18 season this year and has been a benefit outside of the scoresheet as well.
Gagner has played in 72 games for the Red Wings, where he has scored 12 goals and added 16 assists for 28 total points on the season. As mentioned above, this is the most points scored since his 31 points in 2017-18.
The Red Wings signed Gagner to a contract with an average annual value of just $850,000, which is quite the deal for what Gagner has brought to the table. However, the value should be nearly expected with his age and track record in recent seasons.
While Gagner will become a free agent after the 2021-22 season comes to an end, the Red Wings would be absolutely silly not to go out and try and bring him back. He’s an unrestricted free agent coming off of his best season in a while; getting him back might be beneficial.
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The way I see it, adding him to the team’s bottom-six forwards again and hoping for similar production would be a dream come true. It’s known that he’s not going to go out and score 20 goals, but with a mediocre amount of offense and quality attributes off the ice, it’s worth exploring another contract.