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Jets sign Sam Gagner to one-year contract

September 2, 2022, 1:23 PM ET [32 Comments]
Jacob Billington
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Winnipeg Jets announced on Friday that they have come to terms with Sam Gagner on a 1 year, $750,000 contract.

Gagner, 33, is coming off of a 13 goal, 31 point season with the Red Wings. The Winnipeg Jets will be Gagner's 7th team since joining the league, and has been a solid addition to every teams bottom-six.

Though he has been bounced around, Gagner adds some quality competition in the bottom-six. With Morgan Barron, Mason Appleton, David Gustafsson, Adam Lowdy, Dominic Toninato, Jansen Harkins will all be looking for some spots in the bottom-six, and Gagner adds healthy competition for all these players.

The former 6th overall pick is typically good for 30-40 points, which adds some much needed scoring to the Jets depth. Gagner can play both Wing and Center, but has struggled in the faceoff circle. Headed into his 16th NHL season, he is looking to keep himself relevant.

The Jets could be a perfect fit for Gagner, as he can be that scoring 3rd liner, which the Jets are lacking.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gagner comes in and is the perfect replacement for Evgeny Svechnikov. Gagner does have the offensive skills to jump up in the lineup on the wing if he has to, but also plays a perfect role in the bottom-six.

He is a solid vetern who can help guys like Barron and Gustafsson thrive in the 3rd line role, and this move may result in a 4th line of Toninato-Lowry-Appleton, which is a great 4th line. We will see how newly hired Head Coach Rick Bowness plays him, and the lines we see could be completely different than we expect.

I think the must-have duos include Ehlers and Scheifele together, as well as Connor and Dubois. Fill in the rest of the blanks with Perfetti, Wheeler, and the bottom-six players I mentioned above, and this isn't a terrible lineup. At all.

Sure, Sam Gagner along with Dave Rittich and Kyle Capobianco being the only moves this offseason might not be what Jets fans wanted to see this offseason, and many may still point to these moves resulting in more mediocrity, but this signing isolated is a good signing. Very low risk, and potentially a pretty decent reward.

As I said above, Gagner can come in and be this seasons Svechnikov, who many fans loved. Gagner adds some center depth, which, again, adds some healthy competition.

In other news, I have been working on a pretty big piece. Sorry for the lack of content lately, but there hasn't been much news, and the piece coming out over the next few days is a pretty big, fun exercise.

Let me know your thoughts down below, and I hope you all have a great day!
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