On Tuesday, Edmonton announced that center Sam Gagner would be undergoing surgery for a broken jaw, suffered on Saturday after a high stick from Vancouver’s Zack Kassian.
“I think they’re going to put a plate in,” Oilers GM Craig MacTavish told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. “Maybe a couple of plates.”
Gagner, 24, will be out indefinitely while recovering from the injury. Timetables are often vague when it comes to broken jaws -- returning to action can sometimes be contingent upon pain management -- but the Edmonton Journal speculates Gagner could be facing a 6-8 week recovery period.
If so, it would leave Edmonton without its top two centers for a large chunk of the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is already shelved with a shoulder injury and isn’t expected to be back until November.
Gagner is in the first year of a three-year, $14.4 million extension with the Oilers after finishing second on the team in points last season, with 38.
