Confirmed: Tyler Myers agrees to 7 year deal

[X. Benedict]

Why do you make him sound like the next coming of Chara? He is what he is. A guy who is primarily an offensive defenseman, who will hopefully become very sound in his own end, and will throw the occasional check. A mean angry power defender? Seriously? Are we watching the same player?

 

Versteeg

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD8X_ZH2ogg

 

 

 

Lucic

 

 

 

All things being equal....he's hitting better than Chara was in 2000.

[LabattBlue]

I never said chara, not once. He isnt chara and I am thankful for that. Am I seriously watching the same player? Yes. are you? Did you see him in the playoffs drag players down the ice or be a force? Myers is a power defender. He can force you off the puck and he is a offensive defensmen I would never say otherwise. Hes going to be a physical force in his own end and that doesnt just mean checking it also means being able to do as he please because he can power through ppl. I disagree with your sarcasm and believe Myers will be a strong defender this season as well as what he does offensively.

 

Mighty Myers: See the 7:53 mark and then my favorite the 8:45 mark (sidenote check out the 3:30 mark)

 

If you didn't have Chara in mind, what NHL player is comparable to your description of "a mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him"?

 

Just trying to understand the type of player you think Myers is about to become.

[LabattBlue]

Versteeg

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD8X_ZH2ogg

 

 

 

Lucic

 

 

 

All things being equal....he's hitting better than Chara was in 2000.

Like I said...a guy who throws an occasional check. ;)

[waldo]

Why do you make him sound like the next coming of Chara? He is what he is. A guy who is primarily an offensive defenseman, who will hopefully become very sound in his own end, and will throw the occasional check. A mean angry power defender? Seriously? Are we watching the same player?

 

This one will get you in trouble here with some. Tyler plays in their blind spot. They do not see a young man with great potential who is still only a 50-50 chance of becoming a consistent and reliable top ten defenseman. To them there are no defects in his still youthful game. They see something else, which , in reality, has not yet developed.

 

I expect to see something like the following response... well....the Sabres must see it too because they went 5+ for 7 .....when in reality that was still a relatively modest position to take on his potential. It gives them more time to watch him develop,a 5.5 mil place holder in their cap, and flexibility should a player like Weber becomes available too them and they choose to persue him, assuming there are no trade restrictions in his contract.

[Weave]

I'm closer to LabattBlue on this one. Right now Myers is predominantly an offensive defenseman who defends mostly with body position but will throw a check when it is needed, and is big and strong enough to be very effective when he does throw a check. He definitely threw checks more frequently in the playoffs but it was needed more often in the playoffs so.....

 

IMO there is a very likey chance that he will become a more physical player as he develops and becomes more comfortable with the opposition. But it shouldn't be assumed, as it isn't assured. And even if he does become more physical, he still has a long way to go, temperment-wise, before he starts playing like a "a mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him". That is Scott Stevens territory. I haven't seen that kind of mindset out of Myers. And I'm not really expecting it.

 

In other words, hyperbole. IMO of course.

[X. Benedict]

I'm closer to LabattBlue on this one. Right now Myers is predominantly an offensive defenseman who defends mostly with body position but will throw a check when it is needed, and is big and strong enough to be very effective when he does throw a check. He definitely threw checks more frequently in the playoffs but it was needed more often in the playoffs so.....

 

IMO there is a very likey chance that he will become a more physical player as he develops and becomes more comfortable with the opposition. But it shouldn't be assumed, as it isn't assured. And even if he does become more physical, he still has a long way to go, temperment-wise, before he starts playing like a "a mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him". That is Scott Stevens territory. I haven't seen that kind of mindset out of Myers. And I'm not really expecting it.

 

In other words, hyperbole. IMO of course.

 

I don't know. The comparison was to Chara. Chara is a formidable and better offensive player than Myers especially on the PP. Myers is better skater, especially in the neutral zone. As far as play in their own zone, Chara hits more....but not nearly as much as he did a few years back.

 

Chara makes a lot of seal off the play off type of hits...while the hits that rattle the teeth are not quite as common as he gets credit for......as for play under the circles I see a lot of similarities.

 

Both opposing teams mostly play Chara and Myers much the same way, trying to chip it behind. As for Myers, he's not at Chara's level yet....but the comparison is a natural.

[Eleven]

Look, he's not Scott Stevens, but he's not exactly Phil Housley, either. He's got some serious toughness to him, and that's going to grow.

 

BTW, did the NBC announcer confuse Myers with Gaustad in that Lucic clip, or am I not hearing it right?

[Weave]

I don't know. The comparison was to Chara. Chara is a formidable and better offensive player than Myers especially on the PP. Myers is better skater, especially in the neutral zone. As far as play in their own zone, Chara hits more....but not nearly as much as he did a few years back.

 

Chara makes a lot of seal off the play off type of hits...while the hits that rattle the teeth are not quite as common as he gets credit for......as for play under the circles I see a lot of similarities.

 

Both opposing teams mostly play Chara and Myers much the same way, trying to chip it behind. As for Myers, he's not at Chara's level yet....but the comparison is a natural.

 

I don't disagree with your assessment. The comment that got this whole thing started was," mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him". And that was what LabattBlue was responding to, as was I. Chara might be about the only defender currently playing that comes remotely close to fulfilling that description. And it requires a mindset that I haven't seen evidence of in Myers.

 

It's silly it's gone this far. As I said, hyperbole. I doubt our chatty liger meant it literally.

[X. Benedict]

I don't disagree with your assessment. The comment that got this whole thing started was," mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him".

 

Regehr has a healthy dose of badass in him. Nothing like Chara's offensive upside....but he's got some badass.

[Eleven]

Regehr has a healthy dose of badass in him. Nothing like Chara's offensive upside....but he's got some badass.

 

And he's gonna be training Weber, who's already shown some badass. Ooooh, Weber is gonna be a mean SOB!

[SabresFan526]

First, excellent contract. Great by the Sabres to lock him up for 7 years at what is a very reasonable cap hit. Sure, there is a big if to see if he will turn into the player we all hope, but I'm optimistic.

 

I think the offensive skills are there and he can take his game to the next level. He has a great shot, but does not use nearly enough. If he becomes more confident with that shot and starts using it more, he's going to rack up points both through goals and assists for forwards like Stafford and Vanek to collect the garbage/rebound goals generated by Myers shot on net. He's an excellent skater, way better than anyone his size and better than a lot of people smaller than him. It's a huge asset both offensively and defensively getting back into the play.

 

What gets me excited about Myers is that I think he hasn't even come close to peaking defensively, and that's scary because he's pretty good now. What I would like to see him improve on is adding more nastiness to his game. If he becomes meaner, uses his size to his advantage and begins to overpower people, then he will become even better than Chara is in my opinion. He's not there now, but compared to where both players were at the same age, Myers is better and I think has even more upside. The one thing I did notice last season is that he did start bringing a bit more of a mean streak than he did his rookie year and definitely brought it in the playoffs.

 

For Myers, it's really about consistency and bringing the offensive playmaking and the nastiness in the defensive zone every night. He does that, and now you add Regehr, Ehrhoff and another solid offensive season from Leopold again with improvements in the game of Weber, Sekera, and Gragnani, this defense becomes perhaps the best in the league. I am really excited by the Sabres this year, especially the blue line.

[SabresFan526]

So, here's a question to all on this board. At what point will the NHL begin to crack down on these signing bonuses by Pegula and say these are circumvention of the spirit of the Salary Cap? There is absolutely nothing illegal by what Pegula/Regier are doing, but you have to wonder how long it will be before the NHL cracks down. Additionally, if it was so easy to circumvent this way, why haven't other owners done this in previous instances for example in the Hossa contract and the Kovalchuk contract, etc.? I know the answer is entirely about cash flow and being able to make that one time up front payment that only few owners can and are willing to do, but it would appear as though it plays into the hands of only the "rich" owners and violates the spirit of the salary cap.

 

Obviously, I don't care since the Sabres are the ones using it to get the best players, but you have to wonder at some point will the NHL crack down. If you look at it, this offseason, they've given big signing bonuses to Ehrhoff, Sekera, and now Myers and this only something Pegula can really do and not many other owners in the NHL can. So you wonder how fair this is. Like I said, I'm not complaining, just interested.

[nfreeman]

I don't know. The comparison was to Chara. Chara is a formidable and better offensive player than Myers especially on the PP. Myers is better skater, especially in the neutral zone. As far as play in their own zone, Chara hits more....but not nearly as much as he did a few years back.

 

Chara makes a lot of seal off the play off type of hits...while the hits that rattle the teeth are not quite as common as he gets credit for......as for play under the circles I see a lot of similarities.

 

Both opposing teams mostly play Chara and Myers much the same way, trying to chip it behind. As for Myers, he's not at Chara's level yet....but the comparison is a natural.

Great post. It's a very natural comparison. Also worth mentioning that Myers is 21 and has finished 2 NHL seasons. At that age Chara only had played 25 NHL games. Chara is certainly the better player now, but Myers is ahead of where Chara was at 21. If Myers proves to be a smart, coachable player, his decision-making will continue to improve in the defensive zone and, hopefully by the time Myers is 24 or so he will develop into what Chara developed into by 27, -- a guy who basically shut down his side of the defensive zone and made the dump-and-chase to his side a non-viable gameplan.

 

And I'm not saying that just because I have a Myers jersey.

 

 

Look, he's not Scott Stevens, but he's not exactly Phil Housley, either. He's got some serious toughness to him, and that's going to grow.

I agree.

 

So, here's a question to all on this board. At what point will the NHL begin to crack down on these signing bonuses by Pegula and say these are circumvention of the spirit of the Salary Cap? There is absolutely nothing illegal by what Pegula/Regier are doing, but you have to wonder how long it will be before the NHL cracks down. Additionally, if it was so easy to circumvent this way, why haven't other owners done this in previous instances for example in the Hossa contract and the Kovalchuk contract, etc.? I know the answer is entirely about cash flow and being able to make that one time up front payment that only few owners can and are willing to do, but it would appear as though it plays into the hands of only the "rich" owners and violates the spirit of the salary cap.

 

Obviously, I don't care since the Sabres are the ones using it to get the best players, but you have to wonder at some point will the NHL crack down. If you look at it, this offseason, they've given big signing bonuses to Ehrhoff, Sekera, and now Myers and this only something Pegula can really do and not many other owners in the NHL can. So you wonder how fair this is. Like I said, I'm not complaining, just interested.

I think the answer to your question is that in the next CBA, as others have posted, there will be some kind of "collar" or range that the highest and lowest annual salaries in a player's contract have to stay within. This will pick up the bonuses as well.

 

The TP big bonus gambit is especially clever because it's highly appealing at this point to players to get their money as quickly as possible because if the new CBA includes a salary rollback (as the last one did), these guys' salaries (which are low because of the upfront bonuses) probably won't be affected.

[TheMatrix31]

Myers has the size to throw around, so if he wants to be more defensive and tough, then he most definitely can.

[pegs4mayor]

I hope Myers learns to use his size. If he has a little of a mean streak but delivers legal hits then IMO, 5.5 will be a steal for him. :wub:

[carpandean]

So, here's a question to all on this board. At what point will the NHL begin to crack down on these signing bonuses by Pegula and say these are circumvention of the spirit of the Salary Cap? There is absolutely nothing illegal by what Pegula/Regier are doing, but you have to wonder how long it will be before the NHL cracks down. Additionally, if it was so easy to circumvent this way, why haven't other owners done this in previous instances for example in the Hossa contract and the Kovalchuk contract, etc.? I know the answer is entirely about cash flow and being able to make that one time up front payment that only few owners can and are willing to do, but it would appear as though it plays into the hands of only the "rich" owners and violates the spirit of the salary cap.

 

Obviously, I don't care since the Sabres are the ones using it to get the best players, but you have to wonder at some point will the NHL crack down. If you look at it, this offseason, they've given big signing bonuses to Ehrhoff, Sekera, and now Myers and this only something Pegula can really do and not many other owners in the NHL can. So you wonder how fair this is. Like I said, I'm not complaining, just interested.

To me, this sort of circumvention is less of a problem than the kind we were seeing with Kovy, etc., as it is only designed to make it more attractive to the player rather than to get better players under a fixed cap. With the Kovy type deal, teams are getting big $ players for a $2-3M lower cap hit by adding on years that are far less expensive, often without the intent of ever having the player with the team in those extra years. For example, they take a 6 year, $48M contract ($8M hit) and turn it into a 10 yr, $60M contract ($6M hit). In essence, a team can get, say, $70M worth of players (based on what their hypothetical one-year cap hits would be) under a $64M cap. Nobody would say that Myers at $5.5M is cheaper than he should be. The "cheap years" of this contract are during his prime. Ehrhoff's contract is far closer to being the big problem type of circumvention.

[nfreeman]

To me, this sort of circumvention is less of a problem than the kind we were seeing with Kovy, etc., as it is only designed to make it more attractive to the player rather than to get better players under a fixed cap. With the Kovy type deal, teams are getting big $ players for a $2-3M lower cap hit by adding on years that are far less expensive, often without the intent of ever having the player with the team in those extra years. For example, they take a 6 year, $48M contract ($8M hit) and turn it into a 10 yr, $60M contract ($6M hit). In essence, a team can get, say, $70M worth of players (based on what their hypothetical one-year cap hits would be) under a $64M cap. Nobody would say that Myers at $5.5M is cheaper than he should be. The "cheap years" of this contract are during his prime. Ehrhoff's contract is far closer to being the big problem type of circumvention.

The bolded part is the crux of the issue, IMHO. If the cheap "out" years of the contract will occur when the player is over age 35 or 38 or whatever the right cutoff should be, it's much more of a cap circumvention than in a case like Myers', where the entire contract will occur during his expected peak and near-peak seasons. Myers' deal just accelerates the cash delivery and as I noted earlier, protects Myers against a potential salary rollback in the next CBA with respect to the amount of the already-paid bonus.

[That Aud Smell]

as for the chara talk, i think both "sides" of the debate more right than wrong -- if that makes sense. i think that in 5 years' time, myers' game, if you break it down on paper, is going to "look" an awful lot like chara's. my guess is that chara's stats over a similar period of time and stage of career will reflect more hits and more PIM, and that myers will be averaging 5-8 points more per season (god willing) ... but i think that they will be comparable players. which is awesome.

 

So, here's a question to all on this board. At what point will the NHL begin to crack down on these signing bonuses by Pegula and say these are circumvention of the spirit of the Salary Cap? There is absolutely nothing illegal by what Pegula/Regier are doing, but you have to wonder how long it will be before the NHL cracks down. Additionally, if it was so easy to circumvent this way, why haven't other owners done this in previous instances for example in the Hossa contract and the Kovalchuk contract, etc.? I know the answer is entirely about cash flow and being able to make that one time up front payment that only few owners can and are willing to do, but it would appear as though it plays into the hands of only the "rich" owners and violates the spirit of the salary cap.

now that the kovalchuk correction has occurred, there's nothing to crack down on because what pegula is doing is clearly permitted by the current CBA. and i feel safe in saying that this sort of scenario was contemplated by at least some of the negotiators when article 50 of the current CBA was reduced to writing. in the league's opinion, the kovalchuk situation pushed the envelope too far and, again as the league saw it, reflected a form of bad faith performance thereunder -- i still think that, strictly speaking, the kovalchuk deal was technically compliant. but that's water under the bridge at this point.

 

if the owners want to restrain the sort of stuff that pegula is doing, then they will need to wait for the next CBA to tidy it up. mckeznie at tsn speculates that some owners will push for contracts to involve equal annual salaries over the life of the contract -- basically, annual salary will be the same as the cap hit. i don't think that will ever fly. my bet is that they may place some limits on signing/roster bonuses and/or require that annual salary figures be diminishable by a prescribed amount from year to year and/or over the life of the contract.

[RazielSabre]

To me, this sort of circumvention is less of a problem than the kind we were seeing with Kovy, etc., as it is only designed to make it more attractive to the player rather than to get better players under a fixed cap. With the Kovy type deal, teams are getting big $ players for a $2-3M lower cap hit by adding on years that are far less expensive, often without the intent of ever having the player with the team in those extra years. For example, they take a 6 year, $48M contract ($8M hit) and turn it into a 10 yr, $60M contract ($6M hit). In essence, a team can get, say, $70M worth of players (based on what their hypothetical one-year cap hits would be) under a $64M cap. Nobody would say that Myers at $5.5M is cheaper than he should be. The "cheap years" of this contract are during his prime. Ehrhoff's contract is far closer to being the big problem type of circumvention.

 

They made it clear it pisses them off, but they are powerless to do anything about it.

[spndnchz]

Great post. It's a very natural comparison. Also worth mentioning that Myers is 21 and has finished 2 NHL seasons. At that age Chara only had played 25 NHL games. Chara is certainly the better player now, but Myers is ahead of where Chara was at 21. If Myers proves to be a smart, coachable player, his decision-making will continue to improve in the defensive zone and, hopefully by the time Myers is 24 or so he will develop into what Chara developed into by 27, -- a guy who basically shut down his side of the defensive zone and made the dump-and-chase to his side a non-viable gameplan.

 

And I'm not saying that just because I have a Myers jersey.

 

Also to note:

It wasn't until Chara's 8th year in the league that he got his big contract of 7.5 million. Myers is getting his first "big" contract in his 4th year.

 

Now this might seem that Myers is getting paid too early to some. To me, I'm looking at him being 5.5 million from years 4 through 10 of his NHL career. Thus stealing back a few million (more if think inflation) in those last three years.

 

I'm willing to spend someone else's money to lock him up now, maybe overspend by a few million today, to save cap space later. He's only gonna get better. Take a look at his playoff numbers, much better last year than the year before, shot %, points.

[spndnchz]

as for the chara talk, i think both "sides" of the debate more right than wrong -- if that makes sense. i think that in 5 years' time, myers' game, if you break it down on paper, is going to "look" an awful lot like chara's. my guess is that chara's stats over a similar period of time and stage of career will reflect more hits and more PIM, and that myers will be averaging 5-8 points more per season (god willing) ... but i think that they will be comparable players. which is awesome.

 

 

now that the kovalchuk correction has occurred, there's nothing to crack down on because what pegula is doing is clearly permitted by the current CBA. and i feel safe in saying that this sort of scenario was contemplated by at least some of the negotiators when article 50 of the current CBA was reduced to writing. in the league's opinion, the kovalchuk situation pushed the envelope too far and, again as the league saw it, reflected a form of bad faith performance thereunder -- i still think that, strictly speaking, the kovalchuk deal was technically compliant. but that's water under the bridge at this point.

 

if the owners want to restrain the sort of stuff that pegula is doing, then they will need to wait for the next CBA to tidy it up. mckeznie at tsn speculates that some owners will push for contracts to involve equal annual salaries over the life of the contract -- basically, annual salary will be the same as the cap hit. i don't think that will ever fly. my bet is that they may place some limits on signing/roster bonuses and/or require that annual salary figures be diminishable by a prescribed amount from year to year and/or over the life of the contract.

If they change this I would bet they change the terms of buyouts. Otherwise it costs the owners too much.

[BetweenThePipes00]

Maybe this part of the discussion should become its own thread but ... on the subject of cap circumvention and the new CBA, this story on new NHLPA Don Fehr ... http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nc-cotsonika-nhlpa_boss_don_fehr_on_cba_091511 ... mentions the option of a luxury tax several times. That's a whole other ballgame ... one that Pegula can still certainly play, but if there is a luxury tax all the other rules would certainly be tweaked as well ... just a lot of unknowns at this point.

[LGR4GM]

I don't disagree with your assessment. The comment that got this whole thing started was," mean, angry, power defender who will destroy all that come before him". And that was what LabattBlue was responding to, as was I. Chara might be about the only defender currently playing that comes remotely close to fulfilling that description. And it requires a mindset that I haven't seen evidence of in Myers.

 

It's silly it's gone this far. As I said, hyperbole. I doubt our chatty liger meant it literally.

I meant he will be a mean powerful defender who can force people off the puck with his physicality. Personally I think Myers will be a better player than Chara when all is said and done but I am talking as Myers progressive not necessarily next week will myers be a mean, angry, power defender although we have seen signs that this will come to pass. I didnt mean it verbatim and no as of this day in 2011 Myers is not as powerful and angry as Chara. And somebody said something about Myers having only a 50/50 chance of being an elite defender and I would say 80/20 chance at this point. We saw him overcome a slow start last year to become the best defender this team had, so I would place a bet on Myers being very very good. Also if we want to compare Myers to current NHL players I would lean more towards early signs of Shea Weber BUT! I am not saying at this time Myers will be as great as Weber is I am saying I think he is the more comparable defender over Myers, that is just my personal opinion.

[nfreeman]

Maybe this part of the discussion should become its own thread but ... on the subject of cap circumvention and the new CBA, this story on new NHLPA Don Fehr ... http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nc-cotsonika-nhlpa_boss_don_fehr_on_cba_091511 ... mentions the option of a luxury tax several times. That's a whole other ballgame ... one that Pegula can still certainly play, but if there is a luxury tax all the other rules would certainly be tweaked as well ... just a lot of unknowns at this point.

I think the owners will not go for a luxury tax, as it will inevitably drive up total player costs. As a fan I don't want to see one either, because I think a level playing field in terms of what teams can spend on players is better for overall league competitiveness. Due to the various cap loopholes, as well as the spread between the minimum and maximum cap numbers, the playing field is already pretty uneven. A luxury tax would make it worse. (And even though it would probably help the Sabres now, I think even TP will slow down the spending at some point, and then the Sabres would be at a competitive disadvantage relative to the Rangers, Flyers, Leafs, Habs, etc.)

[nfreeman]

I meant he will be a mean powerful defender who can force people off the puck with his physicality. Personally I think Myers will be a better player than Chara when all is said and done but I am talking as Myers progressive not necessarily next week will myers be a mean, angry, power defender although we have seen signs that this will come to pass. I didnt mean it verbatim and no as of this day in 2011 Myers is not as powerful and angry as Chara. And somebody said something about Myers having only a 50/50 chance of being an elite defender and I would say 80/20 chance at this point. We saw him overcome a slow start last year to become the best defender this team had, so I would place a bet on Myers being very very good. Also if we want to compare Myers to current NHL players I would lean more towards early signs of Shea Weber BUT! I am not saying at this time Myers will be as great as Weber is I am saying I think he is the more comparable defender over Myers, that is just my personal opinion.

I like Myers too, but he has a long way to go to get to Chara's or Weber's level.