When Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall was able to trade away Nick Grossman and Chris Pronger‘s dead contract money to the Arizona Coyotes, the Philly Faithful was so ecstatic that the acquisition of forward Sam Gagner was somewhat lost in the shuffle.

Gagner was drafted sixth overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, one spot ahead of Jake Voracek, and was expected to help turn the Oilers franchise around. Obviously, things didn’t quite pan out that way. After seven years with the Oilers, Gagner was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he spent all of one hour of his career before being traded to the Coyotes. Gagner was anything but impressive with Arizona last year, putting up 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points. The Coyotes were actually thinking about buying out Gagner until the Flyers came calling.

Many believe that Gagner is a lost cause and that the Flyers probably should have bought him out themselves immediately after the trade, but the Flyers chose otherwise. And for good reason. Gagner can play and he’s going to prove that this season.

Looking at his career thus far, Gagner averages 42 points a season, which isn’t too bad. Although he hasn’t had that breakout campaign yet, he’s still only 25, about to turn 26 in August. All of Gagner’s career, he’s played on some of the worst teams in the NHL. With a solid supporting cast around him in Philadelphia, it’s very possible he could produce that breakout campaign with the Flyers.

With a logjam at center, Gagner will likely shift to wing, where the Flyers are in desperate need of depth. Gagner played some wing with the Coyotes last season and actually looked pretty good. On a line with scorers like Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, he could certainly put up some bigger numbers and prove that he does have the offensive prowess that people saw from him in 2007.

With the right people around him, Gagner can end up being Michael Del Zotto 2.0. Am I saying that he’s going to take the world by storm the way that Del Zotto did last season? No. But I do believe that Gagner can prove that there is a place for him in the NHL and that he can be a solid player given the right situation.

Like Del Zotto from last summer, Gagner will have only one season to prove to the Flyers that he can produce. Worst-case scenario, Gagner has an average year and the Flyers let him walk in free agency next summer. Best-case scenario, Gagner has the breakout season that people have been waiting for and proves that he can play at a high level.

It’s a low-risk, high-reward project and I’m not betting against Ron Hextall’s intuition at this point.