On Wednesday, the Dallas Stars acquired defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 fourth-round pick.
Vancouver will retain 50% of his salary this year and next, meaning Dallas will only be on the hook for $1.5 million. That’s a big deal for a team who is tight against the cap with a big extension for Jason Robertson likely in the near future.
We will talk more about Myers on our DLLS show today and our deadline show on Friday, and as always, on the DLLS site.
But for now, it will be interesting to see if Dallas sees him as a right-side partner with Thomas Harley or more of a 5th or 6th option.
Myers is a giant on the blue line. And that remains true when standing next to Lian Bichsel. Myers is 6-foot-8, 229 pounds. He’s a 34-year-old, right-shot defenseman with over 1,000 NHL games under his belt. Not much offense outside of his first few NHL seasons with Buffalo (won the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in 2009-10, but plenty of physicality and a big shot.
I spoke to David Quadrelli of CanucksArmy.com, and he had this to say about the big veteran defenseman:
“Tyler Myers has struggled this year, just like every Canucks defenceman outside of Filip Hronek. Under Adam Foote, the Canucks have switched to a man-on-man defensive zone system, and have been worse off for it. When Myers really excelled was under Rick Tocchet. The zone system the Canucks played resulted in Myers playing some of his best hockey as a Canuck. He’s best suited as a five/six defenceman right now, but he can kill penalties and not hurt you at even strength.
“It’s also worth mentioning that just two years ago in the playoffs, the Canucks used Myers and Carson Soucy to match up against Connor McDavid in the second round. Myers can play against the opposition’s best if you need him to, but he’s best suited taking second or third pairing minutes and matchups.
“Lastly, you won’t hear a teammate — or anyone, really — say a bad thing about Myers, the person. Overall, I really like this trade for the Stars.”
Quadrelli also said he could absolutely see Myers thriving on a second pairing with Thomas Harley. Myers is happy to defer to a more offensive partner when it comes to puck movement.
Two cool facts:
- Tyler Myers will become the first native Texan to play a regular-season game for the Dallas Stars. He was born in Houston and is a dual citizen of Canada and the US. Maybe Blake Coleman will accomplish the same feat?
- Myers will wear No. 57 with Dallas, becoming the first in franchise history.
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