Tyler Myers has become a bit of a conundrum for the Buffalo Sabres as of late. He burst onto the NHL scene with a fantastic rookie campaign good enough to capture the Calder Trophy, but since the gentle giant has been anything but the Tyler Myers who captured the Calder and the hearts of many Sabres fans. Instead he has become more of a liability on the Sabres blue line, so much so that there has been talk the Sabres are willing to part ways with the defenceman. It appears the Buffalo Sabres might finally have a partner they can talk to about dealing away the giant on the blue line, as the Detroit Red Wings appear very interested in Tyler Myers.
Oil On Whyte
The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings were talking about a deal relating to the defenceman leading up to and throughout the NHL draft. However, nothing got done. That however has not scared off the Red Wings who are reportedly exploring other options or ways of prying the defenceman away from the Buffalo Sabres. GM Tim Murray has done an excellent job in restocking the Sabres prospect pool and with their depth on defence, Myers has become almost expendable. Is he a good defenceman? Of course he is, and he’s starting to re-find his game. But with players such as Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Brady Austin and Chad Ruhwedel waiting in the wings, Myers may find himself as the odd man out in Buffalo going forward.
That being said, with the Sabres recently buying out veteran defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, holding onto Myers might not be a horrible idea depending on what they could get back in a trade. Tyler Myers provides offence, defence and veteran leadership on a very young Buffalo Sabres squad going forward. There was even talk before the Sabres recent moves, that the defenceman might land the C on his chest next season.
The early reports state the Sabres are after 3 pieces and a high first round pick, quite a hefty price for any team to pay. On top of that, Murray would like to see at least one of Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, or Anthony Mantha coming back to Buffalo and obviously the Red Wings are willing to part with none of those prospects. The asking price is quite high right now, but that could always change. There is no immediate need for the Sabres to get rid of Tyler Myers, as their prospects are at least 3 seasons away from having a big impact with the NHL squad, while Myers is already a leader on the blue line and getting better under Ted Nolan. If the Sabres want to ditch the defenceman, it will be for a pretty penny, otherwise he won’t be going anywhere.
Despite the extremely high price, the Red Wings are still interested in the defenceman as they desperately want a right-handed defencmean and were not able to land any on July 1 and with Myers bringing a $5 million cap hit, he’s a very reasonable solution. If the Red Wings get desperate enough, don’t be surprised if they do pull the trigger on landing Tyler Myers.