The Vancouver Canucks had a few options near the start of free agency to address their defensive core. After their season concluded the club only had three defencemen signed for the 2024-25 season. So with a few options in front of them, the team decided to bring back a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) in Tyler Myers. Myers inked a three-year contract at an average annual value (AAV) of $3 million. He had a bounce-back season in 2023-24 as he was a staple on Vancouver’s back end and was useful during the Canucks playoff run. But signing a 34-year-old defenceman who has a lot of hard miles and an injury history like Myers to a three-year contract could hurt the Canucks rather than help them.
Myers’ 2023-24 Season Was an Outlier
Prior to last season, Canucks fans were salivating at the fact that this would be the final year of Myers’ contract and the team would finally be able to move on from the defenceman. He had given the Canucks several years of service, but the constant giveaways and missed assignments drove fans mad. But last season everything changed, he was given a new defensive partner in Carson Soucy and the two worked well as a pair. Neither of them are offensively-minded players, but the two were able to complement each other well in the defensive zone and were able to get the puck up to their forwards and begin the transition to offence. Myers was also given help with the acquisition of Nikita Zadorov as he was able to take on some of the defensive tasks that were given to Myers which made his job easier.
But with Zadorov leaving in free agency, Myers now needs to take on more responsibility. He will most likely be on either the first or second penalty kill unit and will have to go up against players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jack Eichel, and Quinton Byfield at least four times a year while also playing important even-strength minutes. This means he will most likely be playing around 23 minutes a game and for a player that is in his mid-30s and will end this contract in his late 30s, that is a lot. The reason why Myers looked so good late into last season is because head coach Rick Tocchet was able to shelter him from top competition and give Zadorov the big minutes against those players. With no Zadorov, Myers will have to play against some of the other teams’ top competition and with his legs not being what they used to be, he will have a very challenging time.
There Were Better Options Than Myers
The Canucks had several other options in free agency that they could have explored instead of signing Myers. A great option for them could have been former Canuck Chris Tanev, who former general manager Jim Benning lost during the infamous 2020 offseason where he let Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Markstrom, and Troy Stecher walk to free agency. Tanev would have been expected to fill in the role that Myers would be doing and would do it better than Myers. Tanev was a force for the Dallas Stars last season after being traded from the Calgary Flames and was incredibly effective in their playoff run. He ended up getting a six-year contract from the Toronto Maple Leafs at an AAV of $4.5 million, which is a bit more expensive than what Myers got, but with what Tanev could have brought to the Canucks lineup he would have been worth every penny.
The Canucks could have also chosen to re-sign Zadorov instead of Myers. They probably would have preferred to have a right-handed defenceman which Myers is, but with how Zadorov played in the playoffs, he was clearly way more effective than Myers was. Zadorov was asked to play in so many different situations like penalty kill, 6-on-5 situations, and important even-strength minutes. He was an absolute pest in front of the net and did not let anyone near the crease without giving them a nice piece of lumber into their back. Zadorov was given a big seven-year $5 million AAV contract from the Boston Bruins due to his play and how it fits the Bruins’ style so well, but the Canucks need a player like Zadorov more than they need a player like Myers in my opinion.
Myers is not a bad player by any means, but his age and current footspeed will make it difficult for him to play against some of the league’s top players. The Canucks better be sure that he is ready to play big minutes or else the team could be in trouble on the defensive side.
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