Tyler Myers

The sabres have a new General Manager and that is a very good thing. Terry Pegula started talking contract extension early with the teams best young defenceman Tyler Myers, and has already got him inked for the next 7 years. Pegula is showing fans he cares about the sabres and isn't afraid of spending some dough to help the team. Its a very good thing that the sabres have locked up Myers long term. In the next 8 years Myers will most likely win a Norris trophy if not multiple at some point, plus there is even talk that in a couple more years Myers will be the new captain of the sabres. As Mr. Pegula (fans call him) was handing out tickets to fans he was quoted saying "Tyler ain't goin' anywhere." the 21 year old defenceman agreed to terms on a 7 year $38.5 million contract extension, which will kick in on July 1, 2012.
"We had two sides that wanted to stay together," Myers' agent, J.P. Barry, said by phone. "Tyler wanted to remain a Sabre, and having this done at an early stage was something that he wanted. He's happy that the club approached him about wanting to do this early." Bob Macenzie weighed in on the contract break down and said it was some classic work to stay under the salary cap $12 million in Year 1, and then $6 million, $5 million, $5 million, $4 million, $3.5 million and $3 million. (Way to protect against a rollback, JP Barry.)
Myers is 6 foot 8 and 228 pounds, but that has not slowed him down one bit, in his first 2 seasons He has scored 21 goals and 64 assist and added a Calder Trophy to boot. In 162 games for the club he collected 85 points (21 goals, 64 assists). Myers was the sabres first round pick in 2008 entry draft and has put up stellar numbers and played solidly defensively and earned himself the role of top defenceman with the sabres.
This signing comes as the latest change/addition to the "new" sabres. Mr. Pegula wants to make a cup run and isn't shy about spending the money. This season has all but quit for the newly owned sabres; signing free-agent forward Ville Leino to six-year, $27-million contract, defenceman Christian Ehrhoff for 10 years at $40 million. The club also re-signed forward Drew Stafford for four years for $16 million and defenceman Andrej Sekera for four years for $11 million. These off season additions have got sabres fans everywhere super excited for the upcoming season, some have even predicted the sabres winning the cup. I think it tells the guys that we mean business," Pegula said of the string of off-season moves. "We had some things we needed to address, and we have a timeline. So why wait two years to do it, or three? We've tried to take care of immediate needs early."

Myers is extremely happy to be staying a sabre for the foreseeable future;  "I'm very excited today to solidify a long-term spot and be a part of this organization as it grows," Myers said. "It's somewhere I want to be for the rest of my career. And I'm still young." and the sabres are quite please with having this young superstar defenceman locked up; "We wanted to recognize Tyler not only for his abilities now, but his abilities in the future," said general manager Darcy Regier, who opened talks only two weeks ago. "It has been nothing short of a terrific start to what I think will be an outstanding career."

This deal is nothing but perfect for the sabres. With locking up Myers, while still under his rookie contract, allowed the sabres to get less many for one of the top 15 D men in the league. With the price of future contracts likely to raise in the near future this will turn into a perfect deal for both sides. How often do you sign a top player to what will turn out to be a fairly low amount of money in the future. Now many are comparing Myers and Schenn who both have received new contracts right before training camp. Many believe Myers has more upside than Luke Schenn. Myers is a solid defensman who can also put points on the board while Schenn prefers to just "shut" down guys and letting the forwards take care of the scoring. With the likely notion that Myers may be the future captain and a contender for a Norris trophy in the future, this kid is only going to get better with age and experience.You can argue that its a bit to much money for the young star after only having 1 real solid year, but the sabres know just how good this kid is going to be in the very near future. I do not believe this deal will come back to bit Buffalo in the butt, but may help them win the sabres FIRST EVER STANLEY CUP!
"The Big Easy" is used to producing and winning, he has won 2 gold medals as apart of team Canada for the 2008 under 18 team and the 2009 under 20 team. As well as success in Junior with the Kelowna Rockets, in which he lead to the team to the WHL championship the Ed Chynoweth Cup, Myers was also named MVP of the WHL playoffs scoring a solid 20 goals.
The pressure is now on "the big easy" to deliver and perform as one of the cornerstones for a team that has all the skill to make a cup drive. Although having a slow start to the season last year, Myers stepped it up in the second half. The only real reason for the slump at the beginning was that Myers was just trying to do to much, he now knows and understands his role with the club and should be poised for another stand out season.

I'm going to predict that Myers has another stand-out season something like 15 goals and 50 assists. He then will step it up even further in the NHL's second season and help carry Buffalo deep in the playoffs. He might even win an award or two but that's not a sure thing yet. Then for the start of the 2012-2013 season he will see himself wear at least an "A" on his chest.

So the question remains, can Myers live up to this new contract; Be the future captain and win a Norris Trophy? There is suddenly a big weight has been placed on top of Tyler Myers shoulders, we'll see if he has adapted at all yet with the first pre-season game tonight against the Carolina hurricanes.