Simon Gagne

At 44 years old, Simon Gagne has this physical status:

Gagné, who was drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), ranked 22nd overall in 1998, spent three seasons with the Beauport Harfangs and Quebec Remparts. He began his NHL career with the Flyers in 1999 and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He has appeared in two NHL All-Star Games and has won two Bobby Clarke Trophies with the Flyers as Team MVP.

Gagné has represented Canada on five occasions around the world. He has earned silver medals at the 1999 World Junior Championships and 2005 World Championships, as well as gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a World Cup Championship in 2004.

Personal life

Simon is married to Karine and has a son, Matthew 2, 2009, as well as a daughter, Lily Rose, who was born in February 14, 2011.

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Playing career

Gagné played in the 1993 and 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, as a youth.

Gagné was 16 when he first joined the QMJHL as a member of the Beauport Harfangs in the 1996–97 season. Gagné was primarily on the third and fourth lines, scoring 31 points (9 goals and 22 assists) in 51 games. In 114 games, including a 120-point season in 1998–99, he will play with the Quebec Remparts, totaling 189 points (80 goals and 109 assists). He finished sixth in league scoring this year, was named to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team and was given the Paul Dumont Trophy as the year's "personality of the year" in that year. In 25 career playoff games with the Remparts, Gagné has also scored 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points. Gagné rose to the top of the charts following the 1998–99 season, while the Remparts resigned Gagné's No. 22 jersey during a celebration early in the 1999–2000 season. Guy Lafleur, the only two players to have had their jerseys retired by the Quebec Remparts, has also been banned by the Remparts from the game.

In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Gagné was drafted 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers and kept the Flyers out of training camp prior to the 1999–2000 season. In 80 games, he was mostly at center and scored 20 goals and 28 assists, enough to be named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for his rookie season. In 17 games during the playoffs, he had 5 goals and 5 assists before the Flyers lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Gagné was moved from center to wing in the ensuing season. Gagné played on a line with Mark Recchi and Keith Primeau in 2000-2001, scoring 27 goals and 32 assists in 69 games and playing in his first NHL All-Star Game. He scored two goals, including the game-winning goal for the North American team, during the All-Star Game. In 79 games, 2001–02 saw him score 33 goals and tally a career high 33 assists. Gagné was limited to 46 games and career lows in terms of goals, assists, and points in 2002–03. Gagné scored 24 goals and 21 assists in 80 games this season. In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he scored a crucial overtime goal. In Game 7, the Flyers were essentially cut off.

As the 2005-05 NHL lockout came to an end, Gagné played a larger part on the Flyers and spent most of the year as the left winger alongside Peter Forsberg and Mike Knuble. Due to their numbers (12 [Gagné], 21 [Forsberg], and 22 [Knuble]) and 22 [Knuble] and 22 [Knuble], the line has had his best season as a pro with 47 goals and 79 points in 72 games. He was given the Bobby Clarke Trophy, which is given to the Flyers Team MVP. Gagné has earned more than $500,000 in the off-season. Despite not having Forsberg as his center during most of the 2006–07 season, and Forsberg's eventual transfer to the Nashville Predators, Gagné scored 41 goals and 27 assists in 76 games, winning his second straight Bobby Clarke Trophy. He appeared in his second NHL All-Star Game.

Gagné played 18 points in 25 games before being forced to sit out by doctors in the 2007–08 season. Despite the fact that Gagné had three concussions in five months, doctors told him he had one, and further injuries exacerbated the symptoms. He sustained his first concussion on October 25, 2007, after being struck in the chest by Florida Panthers defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. On November 7, Gagné played out four games and returned only to be hurt again. On his first shift against the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 10, 2008, he was injured after missing the next 26 games. Gagné is the product of several previous Flyers players who have sustained serious concussions. Keith Primeau's career ended prematurely as a result of concussions while playing in Philadelphia, while Jeremy Roenick almost resigned after suffering one himself.

Gagné had a good run in the 2008–09 season, scoring 34 goals, 74 points, and a +21 in 79 games. However, injury problems persisted in 2009–10. He was put on the injured reserve less than a month into the season after being diagnosed with a double hernia in his groin in late-October 2009. Despite the Flyers' orthopedic surgeon's suggestion of surgery, Gagné sought a second opinion from his personal physician in Montreal. Gagné underwent surgery on November 3, which was immediately followed. Both sides of the operation repaired the two small hernias in his right groin laparoscopically through his belly button, while reinforcing his rectus abdominis. After missing 24 games, Gagné returned to action against the New York Rangers on December 19. Just 11 days after returning from injury against the Rangers on December 30, 2009, he scored his third career hat trick and first career natural hat trick. In 58 games, he had scored 40 points on the season. The Flyers traveled to the Boston Bruins in the second round after defeating the second-seeded New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, in which Gagné was injured. After losing three games in the series without Gagné, Gagné returned to Game 4 in overtime, scoring two goals and then scoring two goals in Game 5. After being down three games to none, the Flyers became just the sixth team to force a Game 7, with Gagné scoring the series-winning goal in the third period of Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. In a series and triumph, the Flyers became the third team in NHL history to go back from a three-game deficit to none deficit.

Gagné was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Matt Walker and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on July 19, 2010. He had 17 goals and 23 assists for the Lightning this year, going to another five goals in the 2011 playoffs.

Gagné, who worked in Tampa Bay for a season, has since been an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings on July 2, 2011. On October 13, 2011, he scored his first goal as a Kings player against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. he played in 34 games and scored 10 goals overall during the regular season. He and former Flyers teammates Jeff Carter and Mike Richards won the Stanley Cup over the Devils on June 11, 2012, along with former Flyers teammates Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. He appeared in four games but not for a single point during the Kings' playoff run, but did not record a single point. He underwent surgery to remove a 5 cm lump from his neck, which had been causing him chronic pain during the off-season.

Gagné played in 11 games with the Kings before being traded to Philadelphia in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick on February 26, 2013. He appeared in his return to Philadelphia the following night at the Wells Fargo Center in February 27, 2013, against the Washington Capitals. Gagné scored his first game of the season on a power play, assisted by Brayden Schenn and Daniel Brière, bringing an 18-game game streak to an end.

Gagné has signed a professional try-out deal with the Boston Bruins following a year absence from competitive hockey. On October 14, 2014, Gagné had committed to a one-year deal after a fruitful training camp. Since scoring three goals in 23 games, Gagné announced on January 12, 2015, that he did not return to the Bruins in the 2014–15 season after his father's death in December 2014. Gagné's deal was halted by the Bruins on January 29, 2015, possibly signaling the end of his career. Gagné resigned from professional hockey on September 15, 2015.

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Awards

• Named to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team in 1998–99.
• Named to the NHL All Rookie Team in 1999–2000.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2001 and 2007.
• Won the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers' most improved player) in 2000–01.
• Won the Toyota Cup (Philadelphia Flyers' most three stars selections) in 2001–02, 2005–06 and 2006–07.
• Won the Bobby Clarke Trophy (Philadelphia Flyers' MVP) in 2005–06 and 2006–07.
• Won the Stanley Cup in 2012 with the Los Angeles Kings.
• Goal against the Washington Capitals in his first game back as a Flyer voted by fans as the team's "Play of the Year" during the 2012–13 season.