NHL Rumors: Breaking Down Trade Buzz Surrounding Tyler Myers and More
The NHL holiday roster freeze takes place from Dec. 19-27, so the front offices around the league better get busy if they don’t want to be stuck with the rosters they currently have during the holidays.
It should come as no surprise, then, that there are plenty of trade rumors circulating. After all, there are contenders that could use some extra pieces and pretenders looking to rebuild already.
With that in mind, here is a look at the latest rumors from around the NHL. All three of these rumors are courtesy of Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
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Tyler Myers
Garrioch updated fans on the status of Tyler Myers: “As for defenseman Tyler Myers, the Wings and Ducks have both shown genuine interest along with Edmonton. Many think if Myers does move that's something that will happen closer to the deadline.”
The fact that a move involving Myers could happen closer to the trade deadline is a reminder that the holiday roster freeze is not the be-all, end-all deadline for trades. Far from it, actually.
Myers flashed his vast potential when he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as a rookie, but he struggled last season with nine goals and a minus-26 rating in the 62 games he played. This is his sixth season in the NHL, and there have been some growing pains to say the least since his rookie campaign.
However, he is still only 24 years old and theoretically has plenty of productive years ahead.
On the surface, trading a 24-year-old defender who scored 48 points as a rookie back in 2009-10 doesn’t make much sense for a Buffalo Sabres team trying to rebuild.
Still, they can command a much bigger return package because of his age and the notion that young and talented defenders don’t necessarily come around that often.
The Sabres could greatly accelerate the rebuilding process if they land a number of impact players or draft picks in return. Myers himself could also probably benefit from a change of scenery given his recent struggles.
He was actually the subject of rumors in the offseason as well and responded to them, via John Vogl of The Buffalo News: “If a moment ever comes that I hear confirmation I’m not a Buffalo Sabre, then the mindset will change. But as of right now, I’m a Sabre and I want to be a Sabre.”
That moment may be coming.
Philadelphia Flyers
Garrioch passed along an update on the Philadelphia Flyers: “The Flyers can't seriously think they'll be able to find someone who will take C Vinny Lecavalier's $4.5 million buyout through 2017-18. There's talk defencemen Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn and Nicklas Grossman could be among those on the move.”
Even with an impressive win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the last game, the Flyers are a disappointing 11-13-5 on the season. They could be heading toward sell-and-rebuild mode sooner rather than later if they don’t quickly turn the season around.
It is interesting that Garrioch mentioned the defenders as possible trading chips because Philadelphia is not exactly tearing it up on that end of the ice. As of Tuesday, it is 23rd in goals allowed per game in the league and an abysmal 29th on the penalty kill.
Breaking up that defense probably wouldn’t put next season in jeopardy.
Dallas Stars
Garrioch also provided an update on the Dallas Stars: “The Stars are looking to move veteran forwards Shawn Horcoff, Erik Cole and Vernon Fiddler. The forwards teams actually want that Dallas won't deal: Cody Eakin, Ryan Garbutt and Antoine Roussel.”
It is really not that hard to put two and two together with this update.
Like the Flyers, Dallas is a disappointing 11-13-5 and could accept reality this season rather soon. It is not going to hoist the Stanley Cup, so it may as well rebuild.
However, rebuilding efforts typically mean trading away your veterans for younger pieces or draft considerations. Dallas has to find the right suitor for those veterans.
The Stars also apparently want to keep the forwards who are largely responsible for the NHL’s 10th-best attack intact and rebuild at the same time.
That may not be entirely possible if other teams only want those forwards in any potential trade.
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