Gagne recently indicated that he doesn't intend to retire and will be actively pursuing a contract with an NHL team this summer, Damien Cox of Sportsnet reports. After a one-year hiatus, Gagne returned to the NHL this past season with the Bruins, skating in 23 games and tallying three goals and an assist. However, he ended up leaving the team in early December following the death of his father, with the Bruins officially releasing him in January. Now 35, the two-time 70-point scorer probably projects as little more than a bottom-six forward at this stage of his career, but he's not really the grinder type that teams like to deploy on their third and fourth lines. He shouldn't have much difficulty landing a training camp invite, but he's far from a slam dunk to open 2015-16 on an NHL roster.

Gagne (personal) was placed on unconditional waivers, likely for the purpose of his release, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. The move doesn't change Gagne's situation much, as it was announced a couple weeks earlier that he wouldn't return to the Bruins again this season following the recent death of his father. He'll put his hockey career on hold for now, but could resurface in training camp with another squad next summer.

Gagne (personal) will not return to the Bruins this season. Gagne has been away from the team for more than a month following the death of his father. The forward has opted to sit out the rest of the season, but Boston will maintain a full roster, as Gagne will officially be listed as "suspended." "At this time Simon feels that he has to be home with his family and he has the complete support of the Boston Bruins organization with this decision," said GM Peter Chiarelli. "Given Simon's decision not to return to the team, we have to change his status to maintain a full roster. I spoke to Simon about this, and he assured me that we have his full support with this status change."

Gagne is away from the Bruins on a personal leave of absence, Joe Haggerty of csnne.com reports. Coach Claude Julien relayed Wednesday that Gagne -- who has scored goals in two of his last four games -- will be out "indefinitely." In Gagne's absence from practice Wednesday, Seth Griffith skated with Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell on the team's fourth line.

Gagne missed Tuesday's practice for personal reasons, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. It's not clear at this point if Gagne's absence will extend beyond Tuesday's practice. At any rate, it appears that with the impending return of David Krejci, he could be at risk of getting phased out of the lineup. The veteran winger has three goals and four points in 23 games this season.

Gagne scored his second goal of the season in Monday's loss to the Ducks. Gagne has failed to get any sustained ice time outside of the Bruins' bottom-six forwards this season, which has prevented him from attaining much fantasy value just yet. The 34-year-old winger's best days are clearly behind him at this point.

Gagne is expected to play on the Bruins' top line in Saturday's game against the Sabres. The Bruins haven't yet found a viable replacement to Jarome Iginla as the top-line right wing, so it looks like Gagne will be the latest player to receive an audition there. He's mostly been relegated to fourth-line duty since signing with the Bruins on Wednesday, but if he can quickly establish some chemistry with David Krejci and Milan Lucic, he could end up sticking there.

Gagne tallied a goal in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Canadiens. The goal was Gagne's first since Apr. 23, 2013, which incidentally enough, came against the Bruins. The 34-year-old Gagne is probably miscast as a fourth-liner for Boston, but with the team in need of an offensive spark in the early going, the opportunity could exist for him to ascend to a top-six role if he continues to thrive.

In his season debut with the Bruins, Gagne saw 12:13 worth of ice time and recorded two shots in Wednesday's shootout win over Detroit. Gagne began the contest skating on the Bruins' fourth line, along with Daniel Paille and Ryan Spooner, but late in the game he was shifted to a trio featuring David Krejci and Milan Lucic. It remains to be seen which line Gagne -- who came close to netting the winning goal late in Wednesday's tilt -- will be a member of Thursday against Montreal, but if he ends up sticking with Krejci and Lucic in that contest, or down the road, the veteran winger would have an opportunity to carve out some fantasy utility with the B's.

Gagne is on track to suit up Wednesday against the Red Wings. In his introduction to the Boston lineup on Wednesday, Gagne is slated to work on the Bruins' fourth line, along with Daniel Paille and Ryan Spooner. The 34-year-old Gagne hasn't played in an NHL regular season game since 2012-2013, so a wait-and see approach is in order here, though from the Bruins' perspective, the team hopes that the veteran winger has enough left in the tank to help provide a much-needed spark up front.