The Vancouver Canucks will be without veteran defenceman Tyler Myers on a week-to-week basis as he recovers from a lower body injury, head coach Rick Tocchet said in his media availability on Saturday.
Tocchet also indicated that Myers will be replaced in the Canucks’ lineup by Mark Friedman for Sunday’s road game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
Canucks team reporter Kate Pettersen shared the news to social media on Saturday afternoon.
Myers, 34, has four goals and 23 points to go along with a plus-12 rating and 63 penalty minutes in 62 games with the Canucks this season. He’s averaged a career-low 18:57 of ice time per game under Tocchet this year, marking the first time he has logged less than 20 minutes a night in his NHL career.
The Canucks have been active on the trade market this season, previously acquiring (among others) defenceman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames to shore up their blue line. It remains to be seen whether Myers’ injury will compel them to make any more additions before the March 8 trade deadline.
The Buffalo Sabres originally selected Myers in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. The 6’8″ right-handed defenceman made his NHL debut with the Sabres in the 2009–10 season, scoring a career-high 48 points in 80 games and winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
After long tenures with the Sabres and Winnipeg Jets, Myers signed an enormous five-year contract with the Canucks as an unrestricted free agent in 2019. His deal carries a $6 million average annual value, making him one of the highest-paid players on the entire Canucks roster.
Through 345 games over five seasons with the Canucks, Myers — semi-affectionately dubbed the “Chaos Giraffe” — has collected 18 goals and 100 points while averaging 21:05 of ice time per game. The Canucks are on track to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season for only the second time in Myers’ five-year tenure with the team.
Myers is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. With Elias Pettersson now under contract for the next eight years after this one, deciding what to do with Myers will likely become one of the top summer priorities for Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin.
Tocchet also shared that Carson Soucy is close to returning and will join the team on the road trip but is unlikely to play tomorrow vs. Anaheim.
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