Gagner signed with Jackets Vermette bought out by Coyotes

The Columbus Blue Jackets dipped their toe in the free agency market this week and signed Sam Gagner of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The deal is for one year and a reported $650,000.

Sam Gagner – file photo by Lewis Bleiamn

The signing addressed a specific need for the Jackets.

“We don’t have a right-handed shot at center,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said of the signing on NHL.com. “We don’t have a right-handed shot who can play on the half-wall (on the power play) other than Oliver Bjorkstrand, and he’s just coming into the league. … Sam really has tremendous hockey sense, really good playmaking ability. He can think the game quickly, make plays, create offense.”

Gagner will be 27 when the season starts and had 16 points on eight goals last season through 53 games.

“Getting a chance to play a key role was a big thing for me,” quoted on the Blue Jackets website Gagner said. “I had a chance to speak with management and the coaching staff, and they think my best hockey is still in front of me, which I agree with. They felt there was a good opportunity for me to get some pretty prime offensive minutes, and that’s something I was really looking for in my next team. It’s a great city with great fans, so there were many different things that led to making this decision.”

On Monday this week, Antoine Vermette‘s contract was bought out by the Arizona Coyotes.

Vermette, 34, had 17 goals and 38 points through 76 games last season in the desert.

“In order to give our team more flexibility, we needed to make this difficult decision,” Arizona general manager John Chayka said on NHL.com. “This move will provide an opportunity for some of our young, talented players to step up. Antoine is a class act and we thank him for all he did on and off the ice for the Arizona Coyotes organization. We wish him the best in the future.”

Vermette played for the Coyotes before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the 2015 playoffs.  He resigned with the Coyotes 1 July 2015; he was on the Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks team in 2015.