Oilers bring back Sam Gagner, plus another veteran forward

This just in, the Edmonton Oilers have officially signed veteran forward Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter to professional tryout (PTO) contracts.

Gagner, of course, has a long history with the Oilers organization having spent nine seasons with the team in two separate stints. The 34 year old Gagner was drafted 6th overall by the Oilers back in 2007 and was a big part of the team's young core from 2007 until the early 2010s. In 2014 the Oilers traded Gagner and from there he bounced around the NHL a LOT over the next few years. From 2014 until his return to the Oilers in 2019, Gagner suited up for the Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks. He had a three year stint with the Detroit Red Wings from 2019-2022 and spent last season with the Winnipeg Jets. All of this is to say that Gagner is the definition of a journeyman NHLer and he'll be expected to provide some veteran leadership in Oilers training camp and to help push the team's young prospects.

As for Sutter, he hasn't played a game since the infamous Canucks COVID-19 outbreak back in 2021. You may recall that the entire Canucks squad was slammed with COVID cases and that Sutter suffered through a particularly bad case. He suffers from what doctors are calling 'long COVID', but evidently is getting back to full health. Personally, I'm pulling for him to get back out there and earn himself a contract. While Sutter may have been a fan and media whipping boy in Vancouver due to his high value contract, he's still a quality player who can provide some grit and some goal scoring touch further down in the lineup. Like Gagner, he'll be expected to push the Oilers' young players at training camp and will be playing for an NHL contract, either in Edmonton or elsewhere.

More from the Oilers' official press release announcement:

EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Oilers have signed forwards Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter to professional tryout agreements (PTOs).

Gagner returns to the Oilers for a third stint after being drafted by the club in 2007 (sixth overall) and appearing in 402 games through 2013-14 with 88 goals and 158 assists for 246 points. The 34-year-old returned to Oil Country during the 2018-19 campaign and played another 61 games with 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points before getting dealt prior to the 2020 trade deadline.

Sutter, meanwhile, has appeared in 770 games over 13 NHL seasons, recording 152 goals and 137 assists for 289 points along with 149 penalty minutes.

Entering the NHL as Carolina's first-round selection (11th overall) at the 2007 NHL Draft, the 34-year-old has also suited up for Pittsburgh (2012-15) and Vancouver (2015-21).

The Huntington, N.Y. native has logged an average of 16:21 TOI per game during his career with a notable 1,761 minutes on the penalty kill and 11,412 faceoffs with 5,677 wins.