>     It was my understanding that the contract Gagnon signed was not as
>lucrative (like 1/10 as profitable) if Gagnon was playing in the minors.  Is
>that true?  Also, I had heard a rumor that Gagnon was trded this year, but I
>have not seen his name in the NHL box scores and have not seen any reports out
>of the minors in quite a while.
 
    Yes, most contracts work that way: a player does not get nearly as much
for playing in the minors.  Still, I think it was fairly considerable amount.
In addition, a big part of the deal was the signing bonus, which was on the
order of $400,000 or $500,000.  (Detroit certainly has never hesitated to spend
on free agents--who can forget their spending spree in the mid-eighties on
several college prospects, of whom only Adam Oates ever realized any of that
potential--and then only a few years later for another team.)
 
I hadn't heard anything about him being traded, but i have also not seen any
minors or pro lineups for a while...I thought he was either injured or in the
minors (or both) but I'm really not sure.
 
 
Carl Lindberg
clindberg@colgateu
LET'S GO 'GATE!