In the summer of 1997 Gagner was on the move again, signing a free agent contract with the Florida Panthers. Gagner would spend a season and a half in Florida before being involved in a blockbuster trade on January 17, 1999. Gagner, along with Ed Jovanovski, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes and Florida's 1st round choice (Nathan Smith) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft were dealt to Vancouver in exchange for superstar Pavel Bure, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and Vancouver's 3rd round choice (Robert Fried) 2000 NHL Entry Draft.