Edmonton Oilers waive veteran player and make massive mistake

Moments ago, news broke that the Edmonton Oilers will be placing forward Sam Gagner on waivers today.

The decision to waive Gagner is a completely bizarre decision from the Oilers. All year, Gagner has been a quality contributor offensively in limited minutes while other depth forwards, like Connor Brown, Derek Ryan, and Mattias Janmark have become black holes. Last game against Pittsburgh, Gagner had a noticeably good game and logged four shots on goal. In 27 games this season, Gagner's scored 5 goals and 10 points - that's infinite more scoring than Connor Brown.




Still, the 34-year old Gagner has been a healthy scratch regularly since Corey Perry entered the lineup. Clearly, Knoblauch and the Oilers aren't thrilled with Gagner's fit into the lineup heading into the playoffs, and may make a trade to improve their bottom six.

It feels like a slap in the face for Gagner to be waived after the depth forward decided to come home to the team that drafted him for a league minimum contract. At 34 years old, if Gagner can't find a way back into the Oilers lineup past this year's trade deadline, his NHL career may be over.