An early look at who the Detroit Red Wings should target in Free Agency
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings tried to trade for Tyler Myers back when he was in Buffalo, but they were unable to make a deal for the big right-handed defender. I could see the Wings having a lot of interest in Myers when he hits the open market come July.1st.
As we mentioned Myers is a right-handed shot, and it seems that is a premium in today’s league. Teams can’t seem to find enough right-handers. The Wings have Mike Green and Filip Hronek who both fit that bill along with newcomer Madison Bowey.
Tyler Myers will never be as gifted offensively as Mike Green or the potential that Hronek has shown, but he’s a much more complete defender than both of them at this point in his career. Similar to Gardiner he’s only 28-years-old which honestly surprises me, I feel like he’s been around forever, but part of that is because he broke into the league with the Sabres at the age of 19.
Myers is a monster on the ice as he stands 6’8 and is north of 230 pounds. As you could guess, he provides a physical presence that holds his opponents accountable. He’s better offensively than most give him credit for and plays with an edge. He is a big physical, shot blocking defender who can skate; he doesn’t just lumber his way around the ice as some big guys do. Wings fans would quickly take a liking to Myers. He’s a much more gifted skater than Jonathan Ericsson or Derian Hatcher, just a couple of big lugs I could think of.
With the underachieving veteran defenders like Ericsson and Trevor Daley, Myers is an immediate upgrade. Myers would be a top pairing defender in Detroit. Paired with Danny DeKeyser they could be very effective, and although they are the same age I think Myers would be able to help DeKeyser shape his game into becoming a much more well rounded complete defenseman.
This season with the Winnipeg Jets he’s notched 8 goals to go with his 16 assists. He’s averaging 20:07 TOI per game this season and is a plus 10. His CF% is lower than I’d like to see it as it’s below 50%, sitting at 49.3%. He’s a better player than that shows. I would think Myers will be looking to cash in on a long-term deal at this point in his career. Expect a 5 or even the max 7-year deal worth around 6 million per season. If you are afraid of the cap hit, remember Kronwall makes 4.75 and Ericsson makes 4.25, just saying.