Around the NHL: Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers played his 1,000th game on Saturday

The right-shot defender was selected 12th overall in 2008 by the Buffalo Sabres, playing parts of six seasons there before a trade to the Winnipeg Jets. Myers played five seasons with the Jets, before ending up with his current team, the Canucks, with whom he’s spent the past six seasons.

In Myers’ 16-year career, the 34-year-old has 93 goals and 732 points, along with seven goals and 16 points in 61 postseason games. His career high in both points and goals came in his rookie season with the Sabres, scoring 11 goals and 48 points. Last season with the Canucks, Myers scored five goals and 29 points.

Stamkos scores first goal for Nashville

Speaking of players drafted in 2008, the first-overall pick in that draft, Steven Stamkos, recently departed the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Nashville Predators in free agency. On Saturday, he scored his first goal with the Predators.

Stamkos, now 34, spent 16 seasons with the Lightning, scoring 556 goals and 1138 points in 1087 games. Moreover, he appeared in 128 postseason games, scoring 50 goals and 101 points, winning two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, while also making the Stanley Cup Final in 2015.

In the off-season, Stamkos signed a four-year, $32 million deal worth $8 million annually with the Predators. The team also signed Jonathan Marchessault in the off-season, who scored 44 goals with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023-24. However, the Predators are 0-5-0 and are the only team without a point this season.

Kent Johnson is out long-term

Shifting gears from veterans who’ve been in the league for nearly two decades, to a player who only started his career in the 2020s, we have Kent Johnson. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old centre will “be out for a while” according to head coach Dean Evason.

The Blue Jackets selected Johnson fifth overall in the 2021 draft. After nine games in 2021-22 with three assists, the Port Moody, British Columbia native had a career year in 2022-23, scoring 16 goals and 40 points in 79 games.

However, he took a step back in 2023-24 in his sophomore season, scoring just six goals and 16 points in 42 games while dealing with a season-ending surgery for a torn labrum in early March.

Healthy to begin the season, Johnson scored two goals and five points in four games before this current injury. It’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup.

Anthony Duclair left Saturday’s game

Speaking of injuries, New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair left Saturday’s game against the Montréal Canadiens with an apparent injury, needing help off the ice. As of the time of writing this, it’s unclear what the injury is.

In his 11-year career, Duclair has bounced around the league quite a bit since the New York Rangers drafted him in the third round of the 2013 draft. After 18 games there, he played for parts of three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.

After the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, Duclair signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, before being traded for the third time in his career, this time to the Ottawa Senators. After two seasons there, he signed with the Florida Panthers, playing three seasons with them, with his last game being in the Stanley Cup Final as they fell to the Vegas Golden Knights.

When his contract ended with the Panthers, Duclair signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning before the 2024 trade deadline. Duclair was once again a free agent, turning a good season into a four-year, $14 million deal (AAV of $3.5 million) deal with the New York Islanders.

Before the injury, Duclair had two goals and three assists in five games.