Text
Facebook TwitterText
Send via EmailE-Mail
PrintPrint
Share This: |

SABRES: Who should Tyler Myers be?



By Sal Capaccio


He's 6-foot-8.

 

He weighs almost 230 pounds.

 

As a rookie NHL defenseman, he scored 11 goals, added 37 assists, was a +13, and won the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year.

 

All of that sounds great.  And it is.  But for Tyler Myers, all of that may also be his problem.

 

Since that terrific rookie season of 2009-10, Myers has regressed more and more each year, both in statistics and play on the ice as a defenseman.  His 6-8, 227 pound frame is supposed to allow him to be a physical presence in his own zone.  His ability to move the puck from his own end and through the neutral zone is supposed to allow him to be a contributor to the Sabres offense.

 

Neither is happening now.

 

Some will point to the 7-year, $38.5 million contract he signed in September of 2011 as a reason for his poor play.  Maybe he can't handle the expectations?  Maybe he's not working as hard now after getting paid so well at the age (at the time) of 21?  One or both of those may be true, or at least contributing factors.

 

But I say it's "hockey identity confusion."  Who is Tyler Myers as a hockey player?  What kind of player does he think he should be?  Does his head coach want him to be?  Do his teammates expect him to be?

 

Is his game best-suited to use his size as a physical deterrent for opposing forwards and to help clear the net in front of Ryan Miller?  A stay-at-home defenseman who embodies the "tougher-to-play-against" mantra Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier have been clamoring for since last season ended?

 

Or is it best-suited to be the puck-carrying, offensive-defenseman who uses his mobility and skill to help start the rush for his forwards and joins the play in the opponents zone?

 

The easy answer is "he should be both at different times."  But right now, Myers isn't even one of those things.  So, how can he be expected to be both?  His "hockey identity confusion" may be the cause of not playing either role well enough to help his team win even stay on the ice for this team.  

 

You've heard the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none."  That applies to people who can do more than one thing well, but nothing great.  Well, Myers certainly hasn't mastered any part of his game yet.  And that in itself would be fine if he was at least a jack of several areas, performing all of them well enough to help his team win.  But he's not.  And he's actually hurt his team when he's on the ice.  His "hockey identity confusion" isn't getting to the point of a "hockey identity crisis."  It's already there! That's why he was a healthy scratch two games in a row.

 

Myers has been such a liability on defense - and no help on offense so far - it can't hurt the Sabres (or him) any worse if he were to simply work on and focus on one of those areas of his game.  If he did, and it got better (which it will), my guess is the other part of his game will follow.  

 

Of course, his head coach has something to do with this.  He has to figure out what he wants Myers to be.  Maybe he has.  Maybe he's talked with number-57 about it.  Maybe Myers just hasn't responded to what he wants.  Or maybe Ruff is contributing to Myers' "hockey identity confusion" by sending mixed signals to what should be one of his best overall players.  Whatever it is, and whatever percentage you want to place the blame, both share the responsibility of getting this crisis fixed.

 

If they can't, the general manager may be forced to fix it in a different way.  Of course, at this point, that's only if another team is even willing to help him do that.

Follow me on twitter: @SalSports

Filed Under :  
Topics : Sports
Social :
People : Darcy Regier, Lindy Ruff, Ryan Miller, Tyler Myers
02/12/2013 10:57AM
SABRES: Who should Tyler Myers be?
Please enter your comments below.
02/12/2013 11:25AM
Poor Effort - lack of concentration - still to skinny
It's clear that his not focused during the game, making poor plays and really bad decisions with the puck. His effort on the ice also looks half hearted, there doesn't seem to be any fire in his game. That has nothing to do with talent, can't teach how to play with heart. Something tells me he's going to be this tall wirey blue liner that doesnt fight nor bring a tough physical presence on the ice. We dont need him to bring up the puck, we need him to start eating / working out and add about 30 pounds of toughness and grit. Bench him for the year and send him to the kitchen and weight room.
02/12/2013 11:40AM
Decent Article, Up Until the Last Paragraph
Much of the article is right, but the last paragraph isn't even close. The fact that you would even consider trading Myers at this point is dumb - the fact that you think 29 other GM's in the league wouldn't salivate at the thought of it is dumber. He turned 23 a week ago - let's not get ahead of ourselves.
02/12/2013 12:09PM
Its not just Myers
I'll use Vanek as an example. He came up as an incredible player, this guy was going to be our future. His third, fourth and so on years were disappointing after his breakout entrance. Was it Ruff, or was it Vanek being too harsh on himself. Vanek appears to have corrected this now, but you can't say he didn't disappear at times. Look at the rest of the team, almost everyone just seems lost. Myers is the same way. If its Myers being too harsh on himself, Ruff has to correct that. Its the same story, different player.
02/12/2013 12:24PM
A Crazy Idea
This will never happen--and I wouldn't even be posting about it if I didn't find the idea amusing--but I would like to see Myers moved up to Forward for a game or two. I'm curious to see how he plays when he doesn't have to think about defensive positioning (at least not as much) or clearing out the front of the net...something I don't feel he has ever been comfortable with. It's crazy; I know. He's predisposed to jumping up in the play anyway, so I was always curious if he thought of himself as a forward in a defenseman's body.
02/12/2013 12:24PM
SABRES: Who should Tyler Myers be?
He is a 23 year old kid bottom line he needs to play and work this thing out.Trading him is stupid getting him a different coach is even dumber where the hell do you get your beat writers from would once like to see some intelligent writing instead of this constant whining and drivel
02/12/2013 12:41PM
A above poster:
What the hell are you talking about? He was BETTER at 19/20 than he is at 23. Way better. Something is wrong. How long do you want to give him to "work it out?" At some point, it's fish or cut bait. I agree with this article a lot, except maybe about needing to trade him soon, don't think it needs to come to that just yet. But something has to change with this kid. I don't see how the article is whining at all. It's saying that he needs to figure out what kind of player he is before he can get better. You're the one who is whining. Take off the blue and gold colored glasses for minute to see what's happening here.
02/12/2013 12:44PM
Where are the changes after this past weekend?
Was waiving Ellis it? Man this General Manager sucks.
02/12/2013 12:47PM
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Buffalo overpaying for a player after a few good performances and then seeing a sharp drop in production....deja vu.
02/12/2013 1:05PM
This Years Seems to Be Different
We've seen Myers start slow; nothing new about that. But this year seems different. Other players used to shy away from the kid. Like, let's sneak by him or peel away from him and maybe this giant won't awaken. This year he is being challenged by forwards far smaller than he and he looks sluggish, lumbering. He's been stripped clean many times this season,in his own zone along the boards, and he lumbers calmly away. Other teams aren't leery of him anymore. And offensively his rushes up ice are very short indeed before he's forced to pass (which again usually amounts in a turn over). They are standing up to him. In my opinion, and I've heard that this may not be in Myers makeup, he needs to sit a few opponents on their azzes.He also has to stop chasing the play, getting out of position defensively,but he needs to send the opposition a message, to be leery, again.
02/12/2013 1:07PM
Who should Tyler Myers be?
A Chris Pronger style defenseman.
02/12/2013 1:58PM
Doesn't matter what WE want...
Lindy Ruff wants him to play as a stay-at-home defenceman that can cover for the pathetic Andre Sekera. Problem is that Tyler Myers SHOULD be the offensive defenceman that has a stay-at-home defenceman covering for HIM.
02/12/2013 2:07PM
same old same old
What's happening to Myers is the same thing that's happening to the rest of the team ... Ruff has them playing a 'dump & chase' style more suited to a team with no goal scoring talent or speed down the wings.If he just took the shackles off and let them wheel & deal with out worrying so much about odd man breaks and center ice turnover I believe they would start winning ... since they're allowing a ton of goals anyway I certainly don't see the point of playing this way anyway. Open up the ice and let them skate.
02/12/2013 2:15PM
Game shape is everything
Whether people see it, or not, this kid was nowhere NEAR NHL game-shape when the season commenced. What has he always been uber-talented at? Transition. Offense creation. If he wants to be Paul Coffey on steroids, let it be so. He has the tools to become the best offensive defenseman this side of Bobby Orr, forget Coffey. I thought this was why he was initially paired with a solid stay-at-home guy in Tallinder. We have solid stay-at-home guys all over this roster. Some in ROC too. It is the job of the coach to identify a player's strengths and weaknesses. Accentuate the strengths, decrease the compromising situations. The obvious strengths of this kid lie in the attack zone. His reach is a tremendous asset in their own zone. Stop trying to make this kid someone he isn't, and make him the best of what he is. Look at OTT. Karlsson is paired with Mark freaking Methot. Get him paired with a Weber, or Reghr, and unchain the dog.
02/12/2013 3:08PM
RE; CHANGES
what do you think they are going to do for changes? why do you people think it is so easy to just up and trade someone or just dump them? hello, learn the econmics of the game...
02/12/2013 4:06PM
Myers ain't the problem
It's Ruff. When will people realize that Ruff changes his mind on a situation so much that playerrs don't know what to think. Sunday we had 8 forwards killing penalties and often they're paired differently. The line changes are never ending and it's been this way for years. The game hasn't changed that much to the point where anybody can play with anyone at any given time provided they play the "system". Players become familiar with linemates. But not in Lindys world.
02/12/2013 4:07PM
Changes
Try a new coach and find out. fire James Patrick NOW! Defensive coach is not coaching defense. Fire the special teams coach! They're not so special. Fire the head coach.He allows it all to happen.That's the way management works! You can't fire all the workers for poor performance.You fire the boss! Then see what Myers can do and be...
02/12/2013 4:21PM
big bonus
Don't you think a large contract tells you to keep doing what your doing. Oh right, He played that way for Ruff, so it can't be so. Hmmm, must be Darcy? Oh wait, he offered the big contract, oh yes, Perhaps Myers himself should shoulder some blame for being out of shape and playing his worst hockey since going pro. I think that might fit.
02/12/2013 4:59PM
Re: Dosen't matter what We want...
Tallinder. End of story.
02/12/2013 5:12PM
Wrong Pairings...
Vanek didn't take off until they gave him a real center. Myers has been lost since he lost his defensive partner. Granted, he's a young kid, playing for a long tenured coach (who was a defense man), you need him to learn how to play defense first. Once he understands his defensive role, he can stop worrying about his defense and start looking at helping his offense. Leopold hasn't exactly lit the place up either.
02/12/2013 5:13PM
Many problems
This kid has been a lanky, good skating offensive defenceman his whole life and now all of a sudden, they want him to "bulk up" and lay people out. That's not his game....he's confused because his coaches don't know how to coach, the guy that drafted him forgot to tell his coach why he drafted him, and he's pocketing 12 Million dollars this year, so he probably doesn't care.
02/12/2013 5:38PM
Where the HECHT is Dennis Perrson. Darcy!!???
Well where's this CROWN JEWEL of your NUMBER ONE failed PICKS!!?? Pegula, DO NOT FIRE THESE GUYS! FFFFFORE YOU FOREVR!!
02/12/2013 6:07PM
I still say
Get Sekera out of here.
02/13/2013 8:16AM
He's supposed to be
Chara. That's the obvious example to hold up here. I like the kid, but he's really not doing very well at all. As for trading him, we missed the maximum value window.
02/13/2013 8:58AM
Great article.
Probably too thoughtful for the ravenous whiner liners, but I think this is Myers' problem as well. It seems Lindy has the propensity to quite often give his players an identity crisis. Nice job, Sal.
02/13/2013 7:50PM
mo money, mo problems
Remember when Vanek got his offer sheet contract after Drury and Briere were allowed to walk? He skated around like he had that contract in rolled nickels on his back -- it weighed him down and he overthought what to do on the ice instead of just reacting and playing. It took years for him to snap out of it. I think the same could be true of Myers. Suddenly he's the $12 million man and if he's not playing up to standards, then he becomes his own worst enemy, overthinking plays he knows how to make routinely. Mike Robataille said so weeks ago. Hesitation on offense is one thing; hesitation on defense leads to giving up odd-man jailbreaks the wrong way. He needs to relax and play like he knows how and not overthink every clearing attempt and breakout pass. Whether Ruff is the coach to help him make that happen ... well, that's been the trouble with Lindy, hasn't it?
02/13/2013 11:12PM
Who should Myers be?....
A Chcago Black Hawk playing for the B=E=S=T COACH IN THE NHL!! FOREM FORE EVER!!
02/14/2013 1:31PM
Spot On
Great summary of the situation with Myers.
Title :
Comment :
ADVERTISEMENT