BLOG: Gagner excited & stronger entering his third stint with Oilers

The 34-year-old signed a one-year, $775,000 AAV contract with the Oilers on Tuesday after completing four games for the Bakersfield Condors, where he produced a goal and four assists for Edmonton’s AHL affiliate on a line with Lane Pederson and Xavier Bourgault as part of his continued rehab coming off double hip surgery earlier this year.

Gagner came to Oilers Training Camp on a PTO to practice with the team, but didn’t suit up for any of Edmonton’s eight pre-season games. He signed a one-year AHL deal to go down to Bakersfield to get back up to speed and test his recovery in competitive AHL action, and the veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games says he’s feeling fit for another tour of duty in Oil Country after participating in Wednesday’s practice at Rogers Place.

“Really good,” Gagner said about his hips. “I played three games, two of them on a back-to-back, and played a good amount of minutes and they held up really well. I’m really happy with how it’s come along. It was more just kind of getting my timing back and getting the feeling of playing in games, but the hips feel great and I’m excited to go.”

The hip problems hampered the forward’s on-ice mobility and ability to make an impact for more than two seasons before he made the decision to undergo surgery this past March to be ready in time for the start of Training Camp.

Now, Gagner is pain-free and is seeing a lot more mobililty in his hips after being able to push himself a lot harder this off-season and during his PTO in Edmonton.