Good morning Vancouver Canucks fans! The team has just signed right-handed defenceman Tyler Myers to a five-year deal with an annual average value of $6 million.
We all knew it was coming. I know most Vancouver Canucks fans are split on how to feel about the big free agent that the team chose to target this year. While the contract isn’t ideal in terms of money, the fact of the matter is, Tyler Myers is now an official member of your Vancouver Canucks.
The 29-year-old Houston, Texas native recorded nine goals and 22 assists through 80 games last season with the Winnipeg Jets. Myers is surely an upgrade to the Canucks’ blueline, who for the past two seasons had Erik Gudbranson on it for opening night.
While Myers is definitely an upgrade, many fans are worried about the term of Myers deal. The fear of many comes at the heels of how ugly the Loui Eriksson situation has gotten since he was signed to a six-year, 36 million dollar deal on July 1st, 2016. To me, Myers is an upgrade on the Canucks blueline, and I look forward to seeing the team get some more offensive contributions from the backend.
Looking on the bright side, Myers could be a bigger piece of the puzzle moving forward, and hopefully will mesh well with the young Canucks’ core, as the team looks to finally start winning some games and being a real threat to make the postseason. Myers will likely be relied on as a first pairing defenceman in his first year or two in Vancouver, but as more prospects develop and the team gets more competitive, Myers role will likely shift into more of a top-four role.
Love it or hate it, five years is likely exactly the number of years that the Canucks wanted to get Myers for. If you’re upset about the dollar amount Myers is being paid, keep in mind that this is just a $500,000 raise from his contract with Winnipeg, which had a cap hit of $5.5 million.
What I like most about this contract is that Myers contract has a no-movement clause only next year, then it becomes a no-trade clause. That means that the Canucks are not bound to protecting Myers during the Seattle expansion draft.
What do you think Canucks fans? Do you like this deal? Let me know in the comments section below! In my opinion, the defence needed improvement, and we have all known that for the past two days. The cap is going to go up over the next five years, and the six million dollars that the Canucks owe Myers every season will take up less space on the Canucks’ total cap.