Tyler Myers reflects on the Canucks’ trade. ‘It was emotional’

VANCOUVER — Tyler Myers knew he was extending his trade assignment with the Vancouver Canucks when he walked into the locker room earlier this week and his teammates started chirping at him.

Myers said with a laugh during a phone call with Sportsnet on Wednesday. “It wasn’t difficult, but it was a little strange. It’s something you don’t see very often in the league, but I had a great time with the players. I was lucky enough to be there with everyone when the trade happened today, so I got a chance to say goodbye. A lot of players don’t get that opportunity. Yeah, it was emotional.”

After nearly seven tumultuous National Hockey League seasons in Vancouver, where the Canucks’ two impressive playoff highs were followed by a precipitous decline, Myers left the locker room for the final time after the Dallas Stars acquired the 36-year-old defenseman for second- and fourth-round draft picks.

Myers grew up in Calgary but was born in Texas. In Texas, his mother still lives and he supports his family.

He met his wife, Michela, while playing junior hockey in Kelowna, and the couple settled here after Myers won the Calder Trophy with the Buffalo Sabres in 2010. Their children, Tristan, Skylar, and Tatum, were raised almost entirely in British Columbia. Medical support is established here for Tristan, who has special needs that Tyler has spoken about publicly.

So waiving his no-move clause to leave the Canucks with one year left on his contract wasn’t easy.

“That was definitely a factor. We discussed it quite a bit,” Myers said of the impact on the family. “But we’ll figure it out, and Tristan actually adapts very well to the change. He’s very excited about getting the new uniform.”

“When this all started a few weeks ago, I really didn’t know what to think about. We just wanted to take our time and let things play out and look at our options. When I saw that Dallas was a possibility and started thinking about it, I realized it ticked a lot of boxes for us. I still have a family down there and an opportunity to join a team that has a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.”

“Playing in Vancouver was special, not only for me but for my family. I’m so grateful and fortunate to say I had that opportunity. We call BC our home, and it was amazing for my family. And I’m thinking about my kids, too. Vancouver will always have a special place in our hearts.”

The Canucks left Myers out of the lineup a week ago, a day after the Detroit Red Wings made a trade offer to the player from Vancouver’s general manager Patrik Allvin.

Despite continued interest from Dallas, Wednesday’s trade only came together when Stars GM Jim Nill called Allvin as the Canuck boss was driving across the Burrard Bridge on his morning commute to the stadium.

Despite the uncertainty and mental stress of the past week, Myers continued to report to the rink every morning for practices, workouts and team meetings. He wanted to play the game, too, but the Canucks kept him out of the lineup to protect assets.

“I want to make one thing clear: I am not giving up on my NMC going to Detroit,” Myers said. “That wasn’t true. When this started, we wanted to evaluate every possible option and ended up landing on Dallas. I have a lot of respect for Detroit and Steve Yzerman.”

Everyone in the hockey world respects Myers, a 17-year veteran who has played in 1,123 NHL games.

Although he was derided by some in the market when former Canucks GM Jim Benning signed him as a free agent in 2019, Myers has succeeded in turning “Chaos Giraffe” from an insult to a term of endearment.

The confusion turned out to be rarely his fault, and the 6-foot-8 blueliner earned respect from reporters and praise from teammates for how well he handled the many twists and turns. One of the biggest is this winter’s dramatic turnaround for a rebuilding organization, less than two years removed from a 109-point season that ended one win short of the Stanley Cup semifinals.

“I think the way he handled everything last week proved everything I thought it would,” winger Brock Boeser, Myers’ longest-tenured teammate, told reporters Wednesday morning. “Like, he handled it very well. He showed up at the rink every day. Everybody knew he was going to be traded. Still playing games in the gym, still communicating with guys, still acting like he was here.”

The deal appears to be a win-win for everyone involved.

Myers will try to win a Cup in Dallas, the Canucks will receive second- and fourth-round draft picks (in 2027 and 2029), and the Stars will get an experienced, capable defenseman who cut the veteran’s $3 million cap hit in half by retaining his salary, adding character, leadership and depth to a strong team that won 6-1 at Vancouver on Monday.

But even as the Canucks prepare for their senior skater’s exit, there was a sobering finality as the door closed behind Myers when he left Rogers Arena before Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“He’s a great leader and a good human being, and we’re going to miss being around someone like that,” coach Adam Foote said. “A true professional every day.”

“I think he’s going to leave a mark on this locker room for a long time,” Foote added.

“I mean, he’s such a kind, caring guy,” Boeser said. “He came to the rink every day, good or bad, (and) always had a smile on his face. Always in the gym, always working hard, always on the game, always on the ice shooting the puck. That’s what will stick in my mind. He was one of those veterans who was so good to everyone. We’re going to miss him, but he deserves a chance to win the Cup.

“Yes, it’s hard, but I think we all knew and saw this coming, so at least we had time to prepare and spend time with him before he left.”

With his NMC and BC roots, Myers was not expected to be the first Canuck traded in NHL deadline week.

The team has had free-agent forwards Evander Kane and Teddy Blueger hanging around since November.

Both could still be moved before Friday’s deadline. But the Canucks have other players, too.

A number of factors have combined to make it a difficult market for Allvin, including the NHL’s new playoff salary cap, contract length and trade restrictions, and the massive underperformance of several Canuck players.

“Yes, the market is interesting,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the market or not. It’s different with the salary cap for the first time in the playoffs this year. It’s hard to feel it. There are ongoing discussions and we’ll be watching here over the next 48 hours to see if anything materializes.”

“I think there will be more deals within the league, but I don’t know how many. As you pointed out, protections and conditions (including Canuck players) are probably something teams are looking into as well.”

The Hurricanes are the Canucks’ final opponent before Friday’s deadline. Vancouver plays away against the Chicago Blackhawks that night. So the Canucks need to make sure they have enough players in the lineup if there are two buzzer-beat deals.

The overall final team is a bizarre 2-15-4 in 2026 and has not won a road game.

“I would like to see more fighting within the group.” Allvin said. “It’s their job, the players’ job and our job to prepare for the fans and play for the top every night. We may lose the game, but we have to play the right way and we have to compete. That’s what I want to see our group here going forward. I want to see us get better. Losing a game is not good for anyone and we owe it to the fans who were great in Vancouver and our players need to play hard every night.”

Asked about underperforming center Elias Pettersson, who has not scored in three games since the Olympics and has not scored in 14 games and was benched by Foote in Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Seattle, Allbean said, “I believe he’s been pretty honest in saying his game isn’t where he wants it to be. I mean, it’s easy to say you need to be better, but what are you actually going to do to get better? And I think that’s what we want to do.” “To see.”

With Myers traded and Pierre-Olivier Joseph placed on injured reserve after suffering an injury Monday, the Canucks recalled minor league prospect Victor Mancini to supplement their defense. Wednesday’s trade means Filip Hronek is the only defenseman left from the group that advanced to Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs just 22 months ago.

“It’s sad,” Hronek said. “But at the same time, something new and exciting is coming.”