Into the Weeds: What is Dallas really getting in Tyler Myers, the 'Chaos Giraffe'?
(To quote Micah Blake McCurdy) The answer: I'm not sure.
It’s official. The Dallas Stars have acquired Tyler Myers from the Canucks for a 2027 2nd round pick, and a 2029 fourth-round pick. Vancouver retains 50 percent of his salary, making him a $1.5 million defender this year and the next.
It’s a tough thing, having conflicted feelings. It doesn’t play well on social media, where you need to be either super hyped, or super doomed.
To be sure, my instinct upon hearing about the trade was definitely the latter. Myers fits the profile of the type of right-shot defender Jim Nill seems to be gravitationally pulled toward: he’s cheap, he’s not great, and he’s a veteran stopgap. Having just turned 36, Myers’ best years are well behind him.
On this part, I don’t think anyone disputes that. What seems to be disputed, at least among Stars fans, is that Myers is actually decent. Nill “did good given the circumstances.” He won’t get in the way, and at least now the Stars can go into the postseason without a weak link; somewhat amusing since Myers is arguably the weakest link on the blue line as constructed.
However, notice I used words like “weakest” and “not great.” Pancakes, not waffles. I did not call Myers terrible, or defective. These are absolutely words I’ve used before. Whether it was the last trade dead line, or two summers ago. Are they words worth using now?
My instinct is to use them. Because I don’t like this deal. To me there’s a very simple calculus for any trade: does it make your team better? Forget about the topics of adding size, or physicality, which are irrelevant. Or needing to do something so it looks like you’re serious about contending. None of that matters if your team is getting worse on the ice, just as no amount of assets, however big or small, are worth giving up if no value is added.
But if I’m trying to be fair, impartial, if I’m trying to check my biases at the door, and trying to meaningfully analyze what Myers adds — does any of that change?
