Dave Gagner
Dave Gagner
Born (1964-12-11) December 11, 1964
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
PositionCentre
Shot Left
Played forNew York RangersMinnesota North StarsDallas StarsToronto Maple LeafsCalgary FlamesFlorida PanthersVancouver Canucks
National team Canada
NHL draft 12th overall, 1983New York Rangers
Playing career 1984–1999

David Rene Gagner (born December 11, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current Executive Vice President of Wasserman Hockey.

Playing career

Dave Gagner spent two full seasons with the OHL's Brantford Alexanders. In 1982–83 he registered 55 goals and 121 points in 70 games, catching the attention of NHL scouts. The same season he was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team.

He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft (12th overall) by the New York Rangers and bounced back and forth between New York and their American Hockey League farm team, the New Haven Nighthawks over the next several seasons. He remained with the Rangers' organization until 1987 but was never able to completely get over the hump and earn a full-time roster spot, largely due to his being considered too small for an NHL forward.

His career took off when he was traded to the Minnesota North Stars in 1987. Though initially spending time with Minnesota's farm team in Kalamazoo, Gagner broke out in 1989–90 with 40 goals and was in the NHL to stay. In his best season (1990–91), Gagner recorded 82 points in 73 games. He remained with the Stars when they moved to Dallas, until he was traded to Toronto on January 29, 1996. His stay in Toronto would last only 28 games before he was again traded, this time to Calgary, where he would spend the entire 1996–97 season, scoring a very respectable 27 goals and 60 points in 82 games.

In the summer of 1997 Gagner was on the move again, signing a free agent contract with the Florida Panthers. Gagner would spend a season and a half in Florida before being involved in a blockbuster trade on January 17, 1999. Gagner, along with Ed Jovanovski, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes and Florida's 1st round choice (Nathan Smith) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft were dealt to Vancouver in exchange for superstar Pavel Bure, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and Vancouver's 3rd round choice (Robert Fried) 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

Gagner would finish the 1998–99 season with the Canucks before officially announcing his retirement on September 29, 1999, after 15 years in the NHL.[1] He finished with 719 points in 946 NHL regular season games.

Post-playing career

In March, 2000, Gagner founded Custom Ice Inc., a company that manufactures permanent and portable ice skating rinks.

In 2001, Brad Grant sold the Milton Icehawks to an Oakville trio that consisted of ex-NHLer Gagner, Mario Forgione who owned the Mississauga IceDogs at the time and was an automotive parts manufacturing president, and wine distillery consultant Ken Chase.[2][3]

In August, 2006, it was announced that Gagner would serve as assistant coach of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League; his son, Sam, also played for the team. His daughter, Jessica Gagner plays hockey for the Dartmouth Big Green women's ice hockey program.[4] Dave spent the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons with the Knights, and also opened a training centre in London to work with young prospects.

In June, 2008, Gagner's former agent Mike Gillis, who had recently been named General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks, hired Gagner as the team's Director of Player Development. Gagner replaced Canucks' legend Stan Smyl, who had been named the team's new Director of Collegiate Scouting. On September 3, 2013, Gagner left the Canucks to work with the Orr Hockey Group player agency in the same capacity.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season  Playoffs
SeasonTeam League GP GAPtsPIMGP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Chatham MaroonsWOHL6 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
1980–81Newmarket FlyersOPJHL41 33 55 88 42 — — — — —
1981–82Brantford AlexandersOHL68 30 46 76 31 11 3 6 9 6
1982–83Brantford Alexanders OHL 70 55 66 121 57 8 5 5 10 4
1983–84 CanadaIntl 43 15 22 37 34 — — — — —
1983–84Brantford Alexanders OHL 12 7 13 20 4 6 0 4 4 6
1984–85New York RangersNHL38 6 6 12 16 — — — — —
1984–85New Haven NighthawksAHL38 13 20 33 23 — — — — —
1985–86New York Rangers NHL 32 4 6 10 19 — — — — —
1985–86New Haven Nighthawks AHL 16 10 11 21 11 4 1 2 3 2
1986–87New York Rangers NHL 10 1 4 5 12 — — — — —
1986–87New Haven Nighthawks AHL 56 22 41 63 50 7 1 5 6 18
1987–88Minnesota North StarsNHL 51 8 11 19 55 — — — — —
1987–88Kalamazoo WingsIHL14 16 10 26 26 — — — — —
1988–89Minnesota North Stars NHL 75 35 43 78 104 — — — — —
1988–89Kalamazoo Wings IHL 1 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
1989–90Minnesota North Stars NHL 79 40 38 78 54 7 2 3 5 16
1990–91Minnesota North Stars NHL 73 40 42 82 114 23 12 15 27 28
1991–92Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 31 40 71 107 7 2 4 6 8
1992–93Minnesota North Stars NHL 84 33 43 76 141 — — — — —
1993–94Dallas StarsNHL 76 32 29 61 83 9 5 1 6 2
1994–95HC Courmaosta ITA3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1994–95Dallas Stars NHL 48 14 28 42 42 5 1 1 2 4
1995–96Dallas Stars NHL 45 14 13 27 44 — — — — —
1995–96 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL 28 7 15 22 59 6 0 2 2 6
1996–97Calgary FlamesNHL 82 27 33 60 48 — — — — —
1997–98Florida PanthersNHL 78 20 28 48 55 — — — — —
1998–99Florida Panthers NHL 36 4 10 14 39 — — — — —
1998–99 Vancouver CanucksNHL 33 2 12 14 24 — — — — —
NHL totals 946 318 401 719 1,016 57 22 26 48 64

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1984CanadaWJC7 4 2 6 4
1984CanadaOG7 5 2 7 6
1993Canada WC8 3 1 4 6
Senior totals 15 8 4 12 12

References

  1. ^"Veteran Center Gagner Retires". NHL.com. September 29, 1999. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  2. ^"Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 15 Mar 2005, p. 17".
  3. ^"Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 22 Jun 2001, p. 22".
  4. ^"Jessica Gagner Bio - Official web site of Dartmouth Varsity Athletics". Dartmouthsports.com. 1991-05-07. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
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