The Winnipeg Jets, before they reached super-competitiveness, would not be a team you would have pegged to be the ‘acquire the talented but struggling player and rejuvenate him’, but they did, a few short years ago.
The Winnipeg Jets, in the 2014-2015 season, took a talented but struggling defenseman and made him a useful starter. They traded Zach Bogosian (and Evander Kane!) to the Sabres for Tyler Myers, the 6’8 man from Houston.
There was a lot going on in that trade, and Kane is the best of the group, but I like to boil it down to Bogosian / Myers. They were both former first round defenseman who never reached the heights they should have.
They also both improved after the trade. Myers, 28, still hasn’t reached the point total he did in his rookie season. Then he set career highs in goals (11), assists (37) and won the Calder Trophy. After that, it was all downhill.
Picture it this way. When he was acquired from the Sabres, he was sporting a 34.8% Corsi. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone in the thirties. I don’t cover the Sabres (praise the Good Lord for that), so I’m assuming they’ve reached those lows. But I’m afraid to look.
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Either way, after the trade, it was 50.3%. Myers has kept it above 50% since then, also.
What’s the most you’ve ever lost in a coin toss? The Jets flipped two talented players and got one talented one out of the deal. After the poor play of Bogosian and the antics of Kane, I’d call this a net win.
Myers has been very good for the Jets. Not great, but good. A capable top 4 guy. His 36 points were his most as a Jet.
He’s not an offensive guy, like Morrissey, but he’s a different style defender. Myers is very, very large. Also, he’s one of just five active players from Texas. Not much of an NHL hotbed down there. But that draft position (12) and sharing a home state with one of the all-time greats, Bryan Leetch, was always going to put a lot of pressure on Myers.
He seems to have calmed since leaving Buffalo. First, he’s not on a tire fire of a team. Second, he blends. He’s not a star, but the pressure to be one isn’t there. Certainly not this past season. Myers is legitimately the fourth best defenseman on this team.
And he’d be a hell of a lot higher on some other squads. Just play your game, big man. He can skate, he can pop a shot if he needs to, and he’s steady. One more year at a $5.5mm cap hit, the Jets have him for.
After that? It’s hard to imagine the Jets shelling out the $5 million it would likely take to keep him. This might be the swan song for Myers. But it was a good trade for Winnipeg. Hopefully he stays healthy again, after struggling with injuries the last few years.
If you’ve got a bad feeling about him? I got a good one, so it should even out.