“Tyler Myers for the Buffalo Sabres -- his name is out there now. The Sabres are downplaying it, but reality sucks sometimes. And the reality for the Sabres is, they’re going to be real bad this year, so why not improve your chances in the draft? Detroit believed to be interested, they’ve had talks about a trade. And perhaps Anaheim as well.”
That was NHL insider Darren Dreger on TSN’s most recent Insider Trading segment (video).
It’s certainly not the first time we’ve heard Myers’ name come up in trade speculation. The 24-year-old defenseman has never been able to recapture the form he displayed as a rookie in 2009-10. Myers is signed through 2018-19, with a cap hit of $5.5 million.
No surprise that the Red Wings and Ducks are coming up as potential trade partners. Detroit has made no secret its desire to add a right-shooting d-man, and Anaheim GM Bob Murray has made no secret his desire to add a franchise blue-liner, a la Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.
Now, whether Myers will ever be a franchise defenseman is uncertain. There’s no question he has the physical tools. Mentally, though, he’s had some significant struggles.
Myers logged a team-high 24:21 of ice time during last night’s 3-1 Sabres loss to Columbus.
Related: Sabres’ Myers looking to put disappointing season behind him