• OHL Second All-Star Team (1983)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1991)
• Center
• Born Dec. 11, 1964 – Chatham, ON
• Height 5'-10"
• Weight 188 lb
• Shoots Left
• Selected by New York Rangers round 1, #12th overall in 1983 NHL Entry Draft
• Played 15 seasons 1983 - 1999

Dave Gagner came up through the Chatham minor hockey system before joining the Brantford Alexanders for two full seasons. In 1982-83 he had a great offensive season, scoring 55 goals and 121 points in 70 games.

That summer Gagner was selected by the New York Rangers in the first round, 12th overall in the NHL Entry Draft. In 1983-84 he devoted himself to playing for the Canadian National Team, suiting up for 50 games and also playing in the 1984 World Championships. Gagner then lived out a dream by playing for Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, and although the team failed to medal, he always regarded it as one of the main highlights of his hockey career.

In 1984-85 Gagner began his pro career playing 38 games with the New York Rangers, scoring six goals and 12 points. He remained with the Rangers' organization for another two years but never was able to completely get over the hump and earn a full-time roster spot. The bigger, stronger players in the NHL posed a noticeable problem for players such as Gagner, who relied on speed to combat a lack of size. But in the NHL most players had both size and speed.

Gagner was traded to the Minnesota North Stars in October, 1987 hoping to revitalize his sagging career. He seemed to like the Stars offensive system much more and managed to surpass the 30-goal plateau in each of the five full seasons he was with the team. He also had two 40-goal seasons with his best year coming in 1990-91 when he had 40 goals and 82 points. That was also the year the North Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gagner was an offensive juggernaut throughout the playoffs for Minnesota, collecting 27 points in 23 games.

Gagner remained with the North Stars in Minnesota until the club moved to Dallas and he remained with the team for three more years in Texas. Midway through the 1995-96 campaign he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he was there for just 28 games before they shipped him off to Calgary. He played the entire 1996-97 season with the Flames and had a solid 60-point season

In the summer of 1997, Gagner signed a free-agent pact with the Florida Panthers where he played for a little over a year before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1998-99 season. He finished out the year and then announced his retirement after 15 years in the NHL.

Interview with a Legend by Ken Newans

Dave Gagner was only 19 when he played in the world Junior, made Canada's Olympic team and played in the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.

 

Q: What are your recollections of the event and the experience?

Gagner: We were a very young team, most of us could still play Junior, while the Russians, Fins, Swedes and Czechs were men and veterans of international competition. We were very competitive and were in every game including the final that we lost in the last minute, missed the medals and finished fourth. Coach Dave King had us well prepared and we proved we could play at a top level and at a furious pace. I think we made Canadians proud and don't forget the Soviets led by Larionov, Makarov, Fetisov and Tretiak were hailed by many as the best team to ever win a gold medal and we lost to them by two goals. The experience made us better players and helped kick start long and successful NHL careers for many of us.

(From that 1984 team, those that had lengthy NHL careers included Gagner, James Patrick, Doug Lidster, Pat Flatly, Kevin Dineen, Russ Courtnall, Kirk Muller, Dave Tippet, J.J. Daigneaut, Carey Wilson and Bruce Driver.)

 

Q: You had a wonderful 15 year career but as a goal scorer you started slowly but ended up with seven 30-goal seasons. What was the reason for your goal scoring improvement?

As an NHL'er, consistency is hard to learn. You have to take advantage of your ice time because you work shortened shifts and less ice time than in Junior and Minor pro. I believe I learned to take advantage of my opportunities.

 

Q: Who had the biggest impact on your career?

I have to say Pierre Page when I played in Minnesota and Calgary. He gave me the opportunity to play and Page was so passionate about the game, it helped me elevate my level of performance.

 

Q: Were you as surprised as I was about the success on and off the ice of the Dallas Stars?

In the summer of 1993 I was included in a group of four players sent to Dallas to drum up business. I must admit when the season started I wasn't hopeful about the Texans adopting hockey. However, marketing expert Jimmy Lites, formerly of the Detroit Red Wings, put together a great marketing plan. Then we had a good team and we won almost 50 games. After Dallas won the Super Bowl the football fans seemed to shift their attention to hockey and the arena was full every night.

 

Q: Give us your reaction about playing in the 1991 NHL All Star game!

It was very special. It was played shortly after the end of the Gulf War. It was in the Old Chicago Stadium and fans wore their patriotism on their sleeves and in their hearts. When the National Anthem was played and sung there was a minute of silence for the soldiers that didn't come back. Then the Stadium crowd exploded into wild shouts of USA and applause. I was lucky as I centered two Blackhawks Roenick and Larmer. When we scored fans accepted me as a Blackhawk for a day.

 

Q: What was your biggest hockey moment or series?

I must say playing in the 1990-91 Stanley Cup final against Pittsburgh. We were hot for two months as we steamrolled into the playoffs. We were the lowest seeded playoff team but we made it to the final. Getting to the finals we beat the conference leaders Chicago then St Louis and took out defending champions Edmonton in 5 games. The final was close but Pittsburgh led by Lemieux, Ron Francis and Trottier defeated us (Minnesota) in six games.

Note: Gagner didn't mention he scored 12 goals and 27 points for a brilliant playoff performance.

 

Dave has a suggestion for hockey players to help prepare for retirement!

We should have set up a home base earlier in my playing career. Instead when I was traded or when a franchise moved such as happened in Minnesota, I took my wife and three children with me, so we were nomads. When I retired we set up our home base in Toronto and it took some getting used to, but now we're fine. I'm with Custom Ice making ice rink floors.

Note: Dave is involved in tier 2 Minor Hockey and his 12 year old son “Sam” plays in the Toronto Marlie System and his daughter plays rec hockey.

 

Dave has a suggestion for the NHL:

“Bring back the tag rule to allow forwards to do more fore checking in the defensive zone.”