Per Thomas Drance, of The Athletic, GM of the Vancouver Canucks, Patrik Allvin has this to say about rumors of a Tyler Myers trade: “We have no intention of moving him.” He said this while also saying the team was always looking ahead, and that they have ways to be cap-compliant.
These comments come as Myers and the Canucks open training camp and get ready for the 2023-24 NHL season. All summer, speculation has surrounded Myers, who was paid a bonus in September and now becomes an affordable contract for a team looking for a player with a higher cap hit, but not much actual money owing on the deal. The Canucks, meanwhile, just moved Tanner Pearson in a cap-clearing trade and there’s wonder if they’re done.
Allvin said of any rumblings the team might be looking to move Myster, “He was good for us, especially after Sergei Gonchar and Adam Foote came in. He had a really strong World Championship and I was happy for him that he won the gold there. I know he’s excited to be back here, and working with Foote and training camp will dictate our opening night roster.”
The Canucks don’t necessarily see themselves as a bottom-seed team, even if fans aren’t giving them much of a chance to compete in a Pacific Division that includes the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings. Still, the Canucks have players and improved their defense over the past few months, adding names like Carson Soucy and, last season, Filip Hronek. They also still have Quinn Hughes on their blue line.
The Canucks May Just Wait For His Deal to Expire
Myers is in the final season of a $6 million cap-hit contract before he becomes a UFA at the end of the campaign. Jim Rutherford seemed to hint that the Canucks might just wait out some of these deals and look at them when they expire and the salary cap goes up. He noted, “Moves that were made prior to me getting here, and I don’t even disagree with them… but it’s been a flat cap since COVID, that’s going to change next year, and we’re going to be… out of some contracts we’d prefer not to have,” says Rutherford on the cap situation.
Is Myers in that group? If the Canucks are looking to just be rid of that contract, the likelihood the defenseman is traded at the deadline increases.
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