Sam Gagner traded twice in two hours, lands with Coyotes

Sam Gagner was traded twice on the same night. (Getty Images) More NHL Offseason: NHL rumors | Updating rumor mill | 2014-15 preseason odds

Less than two hours after he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, now former Edmonton Oilers center Sam Gagner is the newest member of the Arizona Coyotes, along with B.J. Crombeen who was also part of the deal. The Lightning sent winger Teddy Purcell to Edmonton to complete the Gagner trade and will get a 2015 sixth-round draft pick from Arizona for shipping the former Oilers center and tough guy Crombeen to the desert.

Get all that?

Gagner has been part of trade rumors for years and now he ended up being traded twice in the same night.

Gagner, who battled through injuries last year including major jaw surgery, put up 37 points in 67 games for the Oilers. The former sixth overall pick has 295 career points in 481 NHL games, all with the Oilers. He has not yet matched his rookie point total of 49 in any of his six additional seasons in the league. He never quite put it all together in Edmonton, but at 24, still has some upside. A change of scenery could be good for him and he should have a decent role with the Coyotes to try to make it work.

In all likelihood, this was a way for the Lightning to clear some cap space. By shedding Purcell, Crombeen and then Gagner, the Lightning have $5.6 million more to work with as TSN's Bob McKenzie noted. This will give Tampa Bay some flexibility going forward into free agency, which could make things really interesting.

The Coyotes had a need at center after buying out Mike Ribeiro earlier in the week. Gagner comes a bit cheaper, even though the Coyotes retain a $1.94 million cap hit due to Ribeiro's ordinary-course buyout. Tack that on to Gagner's hit and it's just a tad over what the Coyotes were paying annually for Ribeiro's deal.

Purcell had 42 points for the surprising Lightning last year and has one 20-goal season under his belt having played parts of eight seasons in the NHL. He'll add some veteran scoring depth to Edmonton. Purcell isn't much cheaper than Gagner with a $4.5 million cap hit until 2015-16.

Gagner's departure, however, may require Edmonton to put Leon Draisaitl, the No. 3 overall pick from this weekend's draft, into action right away next year, assuming he's up to the challenge.

After all of the trade rumors that swirled around the draft, it seems that things are only beginning to heat up in the days ahead of unrestricted free agents hitting the open market.

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