Jets Notebook: Gagner not ready to call it quits, Pionk addresses fine

DENVER - Sam Gagner isn’t quite ready for retirement.

That’s one of the main reasons the Winnipeg Jets veteran forward made the decision to have surgery on both of his hips, bringing a premature end to the current season.

“Yeah, that’s the intent," Gagner explained. "I mean, I actually want to keep playing and I understand that it’s going to take a lot of work to get back to where I was, but I think that being pain-free and having more mobility in my hips will be really helpful for me,” Gagner said inside Ball Arena after rejoining his teammates. “I think that if you look at the way that this year has gone for me, I had a good start and things kind of started to taper off. I still have a lot of game left. When you look at it, I’ve been around a long time, but I’m only 33 years old and I still feel like I can contribute. That’s the intent. Get this done and hopefully be ready for training camp next year and continue my career.”

Gagner was speaking to reporters for the first time since opting for surgery and he was discussing his nomination from the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Masterton Trophy is handed out annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport.

Gagner, who reached the 1,000 NHL game milestone earlier this season after a circuitous journey, touches all the bases when it comes to the qualifications.

“I certainly appreciate the recognition,” said Gagner, who was asked how those qualities were ingrained in him. “I think a lot of it has to do with my parents and the way I was brought up. Also, just the support that I have gotten through the course of my career, through some of the ups and downs. You find out a lot about yourself and the people who support you during those times. I am very fortunate to have the people in my life that I have: my wife, my parents, my friends, some of the teammates I’ve had.

“I am fortunate to have been in the league as long as I have been. You gain perspective as you go along, and just continue to try to work at it. The biggest thing for me is that I love the game. I realize how much the game has given me. I like to live by, ‘you love the game, it will love you back’. The lessons that the game has taught me I wouldn’t take back any of it. The adversity or the hardships that I have gone through, they have taught me so much. They will help me in whatever I end up doing later in life.”

Gagner was the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and made the team as an 18-year-old rookie.

The ups and downs included several unplanned stints in the American Hockey League, but he worked his way back to the NHL each time - helping his appreciation for everything he’s enjoyed and endured along the road.

“That’s the fun part about the journey. You just never know where it’s going to take you,” said Gagner. “You have certain aspirations for how your career is going to go at that age. You come in at 18 and things are going really well. Maybe you expect to play in Edmonton your whole career and win Stanley Cups and everything is going to go perfectly, but like I said, there have been a lot of ups and downs that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

“They have taught me so much and have honestly made me fall in love with the game so much more. I am very appreciative of what I’ve been through in my career. I’m appreciative of the journey and am looking forward to what’s next.”

Gagner made an impact on the Jets during his time with the group this season and he plans to be around the team as a sounding board and to share his experiences throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs as he continues his recovery.

“You can see why he’s been in the game for so long,” said Jets centre Adam Lowry. “Obviously, his story of being buried in the minors for a year and his career almost getting derailed, going from having a great year to not being able to find himself in an NHL lineup for whatever reason, whether it was coaching decisions or management decisions, to kind of reinventing himself.

“He’s such a highly skilled player. He’s only a few years older than me, but it seems like he’s been in the NHL forever because he came in at such a young age. He was unbelievable in the shootout with that backhand toe drag. Now he contributes in so many different roles and that also speaks to his adaptability and his willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team find success.”

PIONK ADDRESSES FINE

Jets defenceman Neal Pionk wasn’t sure what the fallout of his cross check on Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson was going to be, but he did take a few minutes on Thursday afternoon to share his thoughts on what transpired near the end of Tuesday’s game.

After a video review, Pionk received a five-minute major for cross-checking and the subsequent penalty including a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

“I’m just trying to pin him there,” said Pionk. “I’m never out there to hurt anybody. That’s well known and well documented. I caught him in a bad spot. It is what it is.

“At the end of the day, the fine is the fine. I’m not too worried about it. Hopefully (Johansson) is alright.”

REINFORCEMENTS REQUIRED

For Game 82 against the Colorado Avalanche, the Jets chose to rest five players - forwards Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler and defencemen Josh Morrissey and Nate Schmidt - while forward Nikolaj Ehlers was held out with an upper-body injury.

Ehlers was on the receiving end of the reverse hit in the neutral zone that resulted in a one-game suspension for Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman for interference.

Jets head coach Rick Bowness said Ehlers would be reevaluated after the team returns to Winnipeg.

Is his status for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs in question?

“At this point it’s too early to say that,” said Bowness. “We’ll let him be reassessed (Friday) and (then) we’ll know more.”

With a number of players out of the lineup - and workhorse goalie Connor Hellebuyck serving as the backup to David Rittich (who made his first start since Mar. 14 against the Carolina Hurricanes), the Jets brought a number of players back into the lineup and recalled forward Dominic Toninato from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Karson Kuhlman, David Gustafsson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby also drew into the lineup up front, with Kyle Capobianco and Logan Stanley doing the same on defence.

It’s the fifth game of the season with the Jets for Toninato, who has notched 19 goals and 33 points in 49 AHL games with the Moose.

MEN OF IRON

The Jets will have four players who suit up in all 82 regular season games this season, including Lowry, left-winger Kyle Connor and defence partners Brenden Dillon and Pionk.

Each of those players could have chosen to take the night off against the Avalanche but Lowry explained why it was important for him to complete the cycle.

“I wanted to play in all 82. You don’t get that opportunity many times,” said Lowry. “This is my ninth year (in the NHL) and this will only be the second time I’ve had the opportunity. It’s nice to play in all 82.

“I like where my game is at and sometimes when you get a few days off, there’s a bit of a lull. I like to play games.”

For Dillon, he’s playing in all 82 games for the second time in 12 seasons. He’s achieved the feat, and also came close when he appeared in 81 games twice with the San Jose Sharks and 80 once with the Dallas Stars.

For Connor, it’s also the second time in his six-plus seasons he’s been able to play in all 82 games, while it’s the first time in six NHL seasons for Pionk.