It’s not as big a contract as he could have gotten, but Tyler Myers knows where he wants to be as he re-signs a three year deal. His deal with the Vancouver Canucks carries a $3 million average annual value.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announces that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with D Tyler Myers on a three-year contract with a $3M AAV. pic.twitter.com/JFivtNZaZP
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 27, 2024
Tyler Myers Re-Signs With the Canucks
Every NHL player looks out for the moment they can get the stars to align for them. In a perfect world, they become a free agent just when their position is in demand. Tyler Myers got his big deal in 2019, signing a five-year, $30 million deal when he went to the Vancouver Canucks. Now 34, hitting a grand slam with his latest deal was less of a priority. His new contract gives him a bit of security in a place he wants be. And until this season, it would have been a surprise to see how many options he had. The Canucks knew that, and didn’t want him hitting free agency.
Indeed, for almost his entire tenure in Vancouver on that five-year deal Myers was the frequent target of public criticism. His reputation as a scoring defenceman was always carried by his 48-point rookie season. He has yet to match that number, or even get within ten points of it.
The pursuit of scoring has had a detrimental effect on his play. So much so that in Vancouver he earned his nickname “Chaos Giraffe” with how often high-event hockey happened with him on the ice. With that demand reduced, his game has calmed down and improved. But after a strong playoffs, all that is in the past. Now signing him for $3 million is a great value move for what he can provide defensively for Rick Tocchet’s coached Canucks squad.
What the Canucks are Keeping Around
What he is actually best at is being an old-school, net-clearing presence who can skate the puck out. Getting a full season under Rick Tocchet let him focus on that part of his game, and it paid off. As Tyler Myers re-signs, the Canucks know he is a penalty-killing, second-pair defender with some scoring touch.
That’s not a bad thing to be. Especially if you’re right-handed. The difficulty in finding right-side defencemen is a well-known trope by now, and the Canucks are more than happy keeping him around. Myers has plenty of experience, focusing his play on the fewest minutes of his career. It took 15 years, some better and some worse, but he’s finally in the right spot.
Main photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
