Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers saw the Vancouver Canucks put together their first complete game of the season. They posted a 3-0 win on the road and finally looked like they had found their footing for the first time this season. However, the game was going to be celebrated if the team won or lost as defenceman Tyler Myers skated in his 1,000th career NHL game. He even saw himself on the scoresheet in the milestone game with a shockingly beautiful assist on Brock Boeser’s second-period goal that saw the Canucks go up 2-0. It is an incredible accomplishment for Myers that has been a long time coming.
How Did Myers Get Here?
Myers was a highly touted prospect coming out of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) back in 2008. His size and defensive instincts were desirable to teams, so the Buffalo Sabres selected him in the first round 12th overall. After being drafted, he spent one more year with Kelowna where the Rockets won the WHL championship under current Flames head coach Ryan Huska and Myers also won WHL Playoff MVP. The next year, he made his NHL debut with Buffalo. He played in all 82 games in 2009-10 and scored 48 points in his rookie season and even had one goal in six playoff games. He also received the Calder Trophy for best rookie in that season.
Myers’ scoring seemed to dry up after his breakthrough rookie season as he has never scored more than 48 points in a season since then. He stayed in Buffalo until the 2014-15 season when he was traded in a blockbuster deal between Buffalo and Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Jets had grown tired of Evander Kane’s antics and traded him along with Zach Bogosian and goaltender Jason Kasdorf to the Sabres in exchange for Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux, and a 2015 first-round pick that Winnipeg used to select Jack Roslovic.
When Myers arrived in Winnipeg mid-season, he played 24 games for the Jets in the regular season and all four playoff games as they were unfortunately swept at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. After his introductory season in Winnipeg, he played four more seasons with the Jets and joined them on their miraculous 2017-18 run to the Western Conference Final where he had his best statistical season in Winnipeg. He scored 36 points in 82 games that season and also played in all 16 playoff games scoring seven points.
After the 2018-19 season, Myers became an unrestricted free agent and signed a five-year $30 million contract with the Canucks which totalled an average annual value (AAV) of $6 million per season. In his first five seasons with the Canucks, he stayed healthy throughout the duration of the contract and rarely missed a game which helped Vancouver tremendously on the defensive side. He helped the Canucks during their memorable 2020 bubble playoff run where the team lost in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights. Myers and the Canucks missed the playoffs the next three seasons but returned last season and once again lost in the second round but this time to the Edmonton Oilers. Many speculated that a team would give him a nice contract during the offseason but the Canucks stopped that before it happened as they signed him to a three-year contract with an AAV of $3 million per season. Now five games into his new season, he has reached 1,000 NHL games.
What Is Next?
Myers is currently in the first year of a new three-year contract with Vancouver and has strengthened the Canucks defence since he arrived in 2019. He has been one of the most trustworthy defenders that Vancouver has had in that time span and has excelled over the last two seasons. He and his partner Carson Soucy have been anchors on the penalty kill and the team’s second pair and really hit their stride last season. The next step for Myers is what all players want, which is to win the Stanley Cup. He has gone on some deep runs with both Winnipeg and Vancouver but has not yet reached the Stanley Cup Final. With the Canucks having aspirations of a Stanley Cup within these next three seasons, this is his best chance to hoist the trophy that he has been craving since he first entered the league back in 2009.
Related: Canucks Tyler Myers Reaches 1,000 Game Milestone
Myers’ achievement on Saturday is a testament to the great work he has done to get him to this point. He should be incredibly proud of what he has accomplished while also looking forward to the task at hand which is to win a Stanley Cup.
