The Canucks have lost another defenseman as they announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Myers has been placed in COVID protocol. Taking his place on the roster will be Ashton Sautner as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver will be converting his AHL contract to an NHL one and will have him in the lineup against Toronto. PuckPedia reports (via Twitter) that the deal will pay him $750K in the NHL and $220K in the minors.
Myers becomes the fifth Vancouver rearguard in COVID protocol joining Luke Schenn, Juho Lammikko, Brad Hunt, and Tucker Poolman; winger Tyler Motte and assistant coach Jason King are also in there. Myers has logged heavy minutes for the Canucks this season and especially as of late as he played 29:26 in Tuesday’s game versus Columbus. The 31-year-old is still looking for his first goal of the season while he has nine assists in 31 games.
As for Sautner, he’s no stranger to the Vancouver organization having played in 23 games with them between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and has been with their farm team since then. This season, he has played in 18 games with AHL Abbotsford, picking up an assist along with 10 penalty minutes. The Canucks only have three blueliners on NHL contracts not currently up with the big club including the currently-injured Jack Rathbone which has resulted in them deciding to convert Sautner’s deal. He’ll need to pass through waivers to get back to the minors but that shouldn’t be an issue when the team is healthy enough to send him down.
Next will be random people who look like they’re in shape being summoned off the street to dress up and take a few shifts. :D