It’s trade season in the NHL and that means we discuss ideas. No matter how crazy the idea is, it’s up for discussion. On that note, let’s talk about Tyler Myers.

Hear me out and then you can throw things at me if you still don’t like my thought process.

There are a few facts we know that make this conversation relevant. First, the Buffalo Sabres are searching for a veteran right-shot defenseman and have let it be known they’re willing to leverage their cap space, according to multiple reports.

We also know according to David Pagnotta and Elliotte Friedman that the Canucks are taking calls on a lot of players. Pagnotta specifically referenced Myers as a player on the market a few weeks ago.

Fits the Job Description

Before I get into this, let’s be clear, this isn’t the idea at the top of the list. However, it’s not as bad an idea as some people may think.

As I mentioned, Myers fits what the Sabres are looking for. A veteran right-shot defender that could play with Owen Power or Rasmus Dahlin. They also value someone that can bring some leadership qualities to the club. He checks all of those boxes.

Believe it or not, he’s an above replacement level defender this season in Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement model for the first time in a few years.

At 32-years-old he’s still able to play a lot of minutes and in a variety of situations. The good news is that the Sabres wouldn’t need him to play 25 minutes a night for them. He doesn’t need to play on the power play and they may not even need for the penalty kill. He’ll be able to play fewer minutes and focus on 5 on 5. Of course, that doesn’t mean fewer minutes will result in more positive results. We’ve played that game before with Rasmus Ristolainen.

For this career, Myers is a player that can potentially break even at 5 on 5 offensively. The issue in his game has always been the defensive side. You can see this validated in Micah McCurdy’s isolated impact chart below.

We’ve seen Dahlin have success playing with a defenseman that likes to push the pace recently with his success on a pair with Jacob Bryson. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to see that same success with a player like Myers.

The Bonus

There’s another part of the Myers idea. It’s the bonus you’d get from the Canucks for doing them a solid and taking the $6 million cap hit off of their books for the remaining two years of his deal. The Sabres have plenty of cap space to utilize and they should be willing to take on salary to get additional assets.

This situation with Myers sets up a good opportunity to do just that. They satisfy their need on the right side for two years and pluck off another intriguing asset for the future.

One player that comes to mind is Nils Hoglander. The 21-year-old forward is having a down year in terms of actual production compared to last season. However, his underlying numbers still look strong from an offensive standpoint.

Hoglander is not a pick of the new management team in Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford. We’ve seen the Penguins model under Rutherford send prospects and draft picks out the door like they’re candy.

This isn’t going to be some kind of sweetheart deal for the Sabres where they just get Hoglander for taking Myers. They’re going to have to give up some value in return to make it a reasonable idea for the Canucks. This could be where they use players like Victor Olofsson or Casey Mittelstadt, along with a mid-round pick to facilitate some type of deal. I’m not sure how much value either of those two carries in the league right now, but their futures with the Sabres are cloudy at this point.

If the Canucks are of the mindset that they want to get some kind of package back for Myers without giving up any additional assets to move the contract, then this doesn’t work for the Sabres. The only way that this makes sense for them is a payoff that comes along with acquiring Myers.

There’s also the part of this that Myers would have to waive his no-trade clause. I don’t feel that would be an issue, but I could be wrong.

As I said, there are better ideas out there to fill their need on the right side of the blue line. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give this one some consideration.

Data via: Evolving Hockey, Hockeyviz.com, and Cap Friendly

Photo Credit: Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images