Sam Gagner Gets Homecoming After Signing PTO

He's back where it all began. After 16 seasons, Sam Gagner will once again be attempting to rejoin the team that originally selected him with the No. 6 overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers. Gagner has signed a professional tryout contract and will be pulling on the Oilers jersey for the third time in his career at training camp. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SAM GAGNER & THE #OILERS 📜

🔹Drafted sixth-overall by the club in 2007
🔸Played 402 games from 2007-2014 with 246 points
🔹Recorded eight points on 2012/02/02 vs. Chicago
🔸Returned to Oil Country in 2019 & played 61 games
🔹Signed PTO in Edmonton in 2023 pic.twitter.com/xU3znjTXau

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) August 28, 2023

Gagner spent the 20222-23 season with the Winnipeg Jets, notching 14 points in 48 games, playing about 12 minutes per night. He missed the last few weeks after requiring two hip surgeries — one on each of his hips.  

The 34-year-old played the first seven years of his career in Edmonton after they used their high first-round pick on him in 2007. He never quite lived up to that No. 6 pick status, but he did carve out a serviceable career for himself, notching 40+ points in most of his years in Edmonton.

He'll always be known in Oil Country for tying the mark for the second-most points ever scored in an NHL game, with eight (four goals and four assists) back in 2012.

He returned to the Oilers for parts of two seasons in 2018-19 and '19-20, and now will be fighting to make the team as a fourth-line center. 

In 1,015 career games, Gagner has totaled 192 goals, 327 assists and 519 points, while playing an average of just under 16 minutes per night. 

Photo: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports