A Tale of Three Knights

I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with Sam Gagner (the former London Knight) when I watched Chicago destroy Edmonton last night. Gagner was considered to be a rising star after scoring 49 points in his rookie season and there were definitely some huge expectations for him this year but he just hasn't looked the same this season. He even had a bit of a chip on his shoulder after getting snubbed by NHL 09 for a poor ranking compared to his linemate Andrew Cogliano. Gagner's goig through the dreaded sophomore slump but realistically his biggest problem is that Gagner isn't yet able to contribute in enough aspects of the game to make him worth waiting for him to break through the struggles. He's not big enough to contribute physically, nor can he really help out on the cycle and he's not that fast skater. He is a very good passer, and does seem to really have good hockey sense but that doesn't seem to mean he can produce at the moment.

Sam is usually good because he knows he belongs, and because when he has confidence he can pass as good as anyone. But compare him to his former teammate in junior, Patrick Kane and you can see a big difference. When Chicago had injuries to deal with last year, Kane was able to take Chicago on his back and was able to score in important situations. This year, Kane has been surrounded by good players, but he himself is showing that he is the best on the team, competing with the league leaders in goals and points. Kane has the ability to create offense for himself and the ability to score goals, rather than set others up for goals. Gagner doesn't seem to be able to create offense for himself, and even worse, he's currently not able to set up others either.

So what is the solution, well I believe that comes with a third London Knight....Rob Schremp. Schremp has torn up the AHL the last few seasons and produced as well as any other Oiler when given a chance on a 4 game call up. Schremp has the offensive ability to fill in for Gagner and produce for the Oilers, giving Sam time to regain his confidence in.....the AHL. Gagner needs to play against players who aren't as good as him, to remind himself just how good he actually is. He needs to remind himself, that he can make those key passes and that he can also score some goals as well. He also really needs to work on his defensive game, which isn't talked about, but Gagner was a -21 last year, and his linemates Cogliano and Nillson were +1 and +8 respectively.
Sam needs a chance to escape from the spotlight and remember that he is a good hockey player. Currently, the Oilers have players who can produce and fill in for Gagner, so it's in the best interest of the Oilers and Gagner to give him some time to relax in the NHL.

There's nothing to stop the Oilers from doing this. Gagner doesn't have to clear waivers, and neither does Schremp, so moving them up and down wouldn' t be an issue. Gagner also has a bigger cap hit at 1.6 million where as Schremp is only 780 thousand, so the Oilers could actually save some money against the cap by doing this, and maybe use that extra money to bring in a player for a playoff push later in the year. So there is really nothing stopping the Oilers, besides maybe Craig MacTavish having to actually play Robbie Schremp.

That's all for now......the Future Evaluation of the Western Conference will be coming soon.

Aidan.