When the Vancouver Canucks signed Sam Gagner to a three-year contract in the summer of 2017, it’s safe to say they didn’t imagine things going like this.

Gagner was coming off a 50-point season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the team took great pleasure in announcing how good he could be for a young roster and for the power play.

But Gagner’s 2016-17 season was falsely inflated by easy matchups and cushy power play time. It’s no coincidence that the Canucks were able to grab a forward who put up 50 points for a $3.15 million average salary. It’s because other teams were able to see through the mirage.

A year later and Gagner won’t be starting the season with the Canucks, as it seems the team has decided that Tyler Motte is a better fit for the club.

Gagner may have played his last game for the Canucks, though that’s still unknown. It’s unlikely another team claims Gagner off waivers, so he’ll probably be in AHL Utica to start the season. From there, it’ll be on Gagner whether he decides to gut it in the lower level. It’s hard to see him just packing it up at the age of 29, so one can see him playing through the demotion.

It's also easy to see him being called back up to the Canucks in the event of an injury or the perceived need to add his presence on the power play.

But for now, the Canucks don’t have Sam Gagner on the roster, and this is a savvy decision. If another team bites (though it’s unlikely), the Canucks are out from under an ugly contract and free from the obligation of having to play Gagner over more deserving prospects.

If he goes down to Utica, well, the latter is still true. Overall, one has to commend the Canucks for admitting they were wrong to sign him. The bad part? It took a year to come to a conclusion many made immediately after the signing.

Hopefully they learn a similar lesson when one or all of the Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller signings inevitably don’t work out.

As for Darren Archibald, it’s hard not to root for him as a player, and it was great to see him ink a one-way deal last season. However, with the above additions to the bottom-six there just wasn’t space for the perennial fan favourite on the NHL roster. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Archie.

The Canucks’ NHL roster now seems more or less set, with Roussel set to start the season on injured reserve. The team will have to make a decision on whom to send down (likely between Motte and Alex Biega, though it might depend on how Nikolay Goldobin starts the season) when Roussel joins the lineup.

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