Tyler Myers
Position: Defense
Age: 24
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 219 lbs.
2013-14 team: Buffalo
Acquired: Taken in the 1st round (12th overall) in 2008
Last year’s ranking: 5
He may not be the player he was as a rookie, but Myers turned things around a bit last season. He was one of the players that seemed to play much better under Ted Nolan than he did when Ron Rolston was in charge. Hope of him being a top of the league player is starting to wane, but he did show signs that he will be at least a solid top four defenseman.
He had a decent scoring season, especially compared to his Sabres counterparts, with nine goals and 13 assists on the year. While his season started out much like the year before ended, poorly, he seemed to be gaining his confidence back in the second half of the year. We saw the Myers that wasn’t afraid to lead a rush again, and even started to see a more physical aspect that Myers had lacked in the past. His Corsi and Fenwick stats were decent as well.
He’ll be getting paid $5.5 million for the next five seasons, so he needs to at least be one of the Sabres top three defensemen going forward to even come close to being worth the price tag. He’s been the center of some trade rumors, especially with Detroit, but the Sabres have either decided that it’s worth waiting things out a little longer to see if he can continue to progress or that the return isn’t close to matching the risk of moving him.
If things turn for the worse with Myers, the trade talk could heat up again. The parade of young defensemen could make moving Myers for a forward realistic. Based on what is being said by the national media Myers is still held in high regard around the league.
And if he does return to the form that won him the Calder Trophy? Then the Sabres may be even scarier in a few years than we thought.
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