[Speculation] Canucks exploring Tyler Myers trade

[brian42]

@TheFourthPeriod is reporting the #Canucks  are “exploring the trade waters for defenceman Tyler Myers.”

Myers has been solid this season, but if they can move off that contract that would go a long way in clearing some cap space. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Roger Neilsons Towel
Changed from Rumour to Speculation

[NHL97OneTimer]

Fair to say new management is throwing a lot of lines into the water at this point with hopes of finding the right catch......so I'm expecting to hear this type of news with most of the players on the team.

[Elias Pettersson]

At 50% retained we could get quite a haul for Myers I think.  Big right handed Dman who can play in all positions.  At $3 million he would be valuable to alot of teams if JR wants to go that route.  It would have to be an overpayment though as we need Myers just like other teams need him.  

 

Pretty much every playoff team could use a RHD, so there could be lots of trade possibilities here. 

[brian42]

Just now, Elias Pettersson said:

At 50% retained we could get quite a haul for Myers I think.  Big right handed Dman who can play in all positions.  At $3 million he would be valuable to alot of teams if JR wants to go that route.  It would have to be an overpayment though as we need Myers just like other teams need him.  

 

Pretty much every playoff team could use a RHD, so there could be lots of trade possibilities here. 

Agreed many teams would be interested and it would increase the return to retain money on his contract but one of the managements goals is to free cap space and having 3 million cap hit for 2 more years wouldn’t look good. 

[Elias Pettersson]

1 minute ago, brian42 said:

Agreed many teams would be interested and it would increase the return to retain money on his contract but one of the managements goals is to free cap space and having 3 million cap hit for 2 more years wouldn’t look good. 

True, but moving $6 million at the deadline to a contender would be tough.  Don't think we'd get alot of interest at that cost.  At $3 million we could get ALOT more in a trade and still free up $3 million in cap space.  If we are also moving out Miller/Boeser/Garland then cap space is not going to be an issue moving forward if we are acquiring young prospects on ELC contracts.  If we can free enough space to go after one big UFA in the summer like Forsberg or Nichushkin then we should be able to free up enough space for that.

[Dazzle]

People talk about Myers and his big contract, but the reality is that the Canucks need him. There's no other replacement.

[spook007]

35 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

True, but moving $6 million at the deadline to a contender would be tough.  Don't think we'd get alot of interest at that cost.  At $3 million we could get ALOT more in a trade and still free up $3 million in cap space.  If we are also moving out Miller/Boeser/Garland then cap space is not going to be an issue moving forward if we are acquiring young prospects on ELC contracts.  If we can free enough space to go after one big UFA in the summer like Forsberg or Nichushkin then we should be able to free up enough space for that.

Nice one...

Only problem really is the same as with all trade proposals including Myers, who is going to pick up the slack from Myers...

Myers leaving would leave a massive hole on our right side. 

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

I’d be all over a trade if they can move Myers without retaining any salary, or at worst with only minimal salary retention. 
 

But if we’re talking the max 50% retained, I’m not sure it makes us that much better to carry $3M a year in dead cap for the next two seasons after this one.

 

Myers would still need to be replaced. And there’s no guarantee we can acquire a superior player to him in free agency or trade for just $3M AAV.
 

Might be better to just keep him then.

 

That said, I’m glad they’re at least exploring the option. Myers has been having a pretty good season, by his standards, but statistically, his positive on-ice impacts have also been shrinking of late, compared to the highly favourable results we were seeing earlier this season. Especially in terms of metrics like GAR (he’s still above replacement by 0.4 goals, but IIRC he was better than 5 GAR earlier this season). And on expected goals he’s dropped all the way down now to -6 xGAR, which I believe is actually the lowest of his career.

These aren’t the end all be all of defenceman fancy stats (GAR, xGAR, etc are flawed, and pretty much all metrics fail at some level in measuring the play quality of defencemen) but they might be indicators that things are trending downward, and Canucks might be wise to move now, if a willing trading partner can be found.
 

I’m not all that optimistic Myers is going to suddenly have his best seasons of his career, or even his current contract, over his final two years of his deal. More likely he gets worse with age. So if he can be moved now, without too much retention, and even return some form of asset, it’s probably a smart move that saves us now from some future pain.
 

Hopefully, if a trade happens, it will coincide with another trade that returns a quality, young top-4 RHD capable of eating Myers’ minutes. Otherwise, it just leaves a big hole on a already flawed defence. But maybe JR swings a big trade that gets us a stud RHD. And maybe Allvin and company also find some UDFA Dmen in college or Euro who look NHL ready by next camp. Or our pro scouting finally gets revamped and built up to the level where we can dependably find mid-range priced UFAs who perform like high-priced players (instead of doing the opposite, in paying premium prices for some underwhelming performances).

 

We’ll see what happens, I guess.

Edited February 24, 2022 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

[Tinky-Winky]

good get rid of the giraffe 

 

 

[-AJ-]

He's been quite good recently, but I'm still skeptical that he has actual positive value given his contract. He's probably worth $4-5M right now though, so I guess if we could move him without any retention for a 7th rounder, as crazy as that might seem, it wouldn't be horrible, freeing up that much space. That said, eventually, we need to replace what he brings and that would be difficult for less than his contract unless we find a diamond in the rough.

[Rush17]

4 hours ago, Dazzle said:

People talk about Myers and his big contract, but the reality is that the Canucks need him. There's no other replacement.

That's where the return comes in play

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

Seems more like speculation to me at this point. I’m sure management is looking at every player outside of a handful of untouchables. 

[D-Money]

I could see a team like Washington be potentially interested in this, with Justin Schultz maybe coming back for salary reasons. Schultz is having a down year, and he's been absolutely useless in the playoffs the last 2 years. Carlson gets the offensive minutes, so Myers would be the #2RD with more defensive/matchup duties.

 

If we retained $2M salaries between Schultz and Myers are a wash, so that could be a valuable upgrade for them. We'd still clear $4M off the books for the next 2 years (Schultz is pending UFA), plus whatever futures we'd get in return.

[Rush17]

3 minutes ago, D-Money said:

I could see a team like Washington be potentially interested in this, with Justin Schultz maybe coming back for salary reasons. Schultz is having a down year, and he's been absolutely useless in the playoffs the last 2 years. Carlson gets the offensive minutes, so Myers would be the #2RD with more defensive/matchup duties.

 

If we retained $2M salaries between Schultz and Myers are a wash, so that could be a valuable upgrade for them. We'd still clear $4M off the books for the next 2 years (Schultz is pending UFA), plus whatever futures we'd get in return.

That would make a lot of sense if dumping the salary is a priority.

[Alflives]

18 minutes ago, D-Money said:

I could see a team like Washington be potentially interested in this, with Justin Schultz maybe coming back for salary reasons. Schultz is having a down year, and he's been absolutely useless in the playoffs the last 2 years. Carlson gets the offensive minutes, so Myers would be the #2RD with more defensive/matchup duties.

 

If we retained $2M salaries between Schultz and Myers are a wash, so that could be a valuable upgrade for them. We'd still clear $4M off the books for the next 2 years (Schultz is pending UFA), plus whatever futures we'd get in return.

Maybe it’s Myers for Schultz with no retention?  Then all the cap is off the books.  We dumped juice-man Schmidt on the Pig and got a third in return.  Myers is a better player than juicer boy.  

[rekker]

Pure speculation and I don't se it. We need Myers and he does his job well. Maybe slightly overpaid but that's what happens in free agency, and as a franchise you fail miserably at drafting and developing your own dmen.

[zduck14]

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind retaining salary in most Myers trade scenarios. Losing Myers creates a big hole on the right side that isn't going to be filled with any 3 or 4 million dollar player at this point. In my opinion, if Myers is traded, it has to be with no retention unless there's a deal to be made around a McAvoy type. Miller and Myers (1.5 million retained) for McAvoy, deBrusk, Lohrei and a pick?

 

Probably a pipe dream though as I'd consider McAvoy a top 10 dman already and I think he'll be in the top 5 league wide within a year or two. 

[wai_lai416]

So we retaining 2-3 mil just to sign someone for 3-4mil?? So what saving is there? And is a 3-4mil rhd to play in ur top pairing an upgrade? Unless it's 0 retention no thx 

[BPA]

Got to look at the bigger picture if Myers is traded…

 

Stealth tank for Bedard.

 

[JM_]

5 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

I’d be all over a trade if they can move Myers without retaining any salary, or at worst with only minimal salary retention. 
 

But if we’re talking the max 50% retained, I’m not sure it makes us that much better to carry $3M a year in dead cap for the next two seasons after this one.

 

Myers would still need to be replaced. And there’s no guarantee we can acquire a superior player to him in free agency or trade for just $3M AAV.
 

Might be better to just keep him then.

 

That said, I’m glad they’re at least exploring the option. Myers has been having a pretty good season, by his standards, but statistically, his positive on-ice impacts have also been shrinking of late, compared to the highly favourable results we were seeing earlier this season. Especially in terms of metrics like GAR (he’s still above replacement by 0.4 goals, but IIRC he was better than 5 GAR earlier this season). And on expected goals he’s dropped all the way down now to -6 xGAR, which I believe is actually the lowest of his career.

These aren’t the end all be all of defenceman fancy stats (GAR, xGAR, etc are flawed, and pretty much all metrics fail at some level in measuring the play quality of defencemen) but they might be indicators that things are trending downward, and Canucks might be wise to move now, if a willing trading partner can be found.
 

I’m not all that optimistic Myers is going to suddenly have his best seasons of his career, or even his current contract, over his final two years of his deal. More likely he gets worse with age. So if he can be moved now, without too much retention, and even return some form of asset, it’s probably a smart move that saves us now from some future pain.
 

Hopefully, if a trade happens, it will coincide with another trade that returns a quality, young top-4 RHD capable of eating Myers’ minutes. Otherwise, it just leaves a big hole on a already flawed defence. But maybe JR swings a big trade that gets us a stud RHD. And maybe Allvin and company also find some UDFA Dmen in college or Euro who look NHL ready by next camp. Or our pro scouting finally gets revamped and built up to the level where we can dependably find mid-range priced UFAs who perform like high-priced players (instead of doing the opposite, in paying premium prices for some underwhelming performances).

 

We’ll see what happens, I guess.

sounds like its the usual type of due diligence this time of year. 

 

As far as retaining on Myers, that makes little sense to me either. I don't think a team would give up much for him in a trade, although I do think he would be movable. Dallas e.g.  might want him since they are moving on from Klingberg, and I could see them being interested for a b-prospect and maybe a 2nd, something like that.

 

But retention doesn't make sense to me, as we'd be in the same position cap-wise once we got a replacement.