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Philippe Myers

Lightning Send Philippe Myers To AHL

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Fresh off re-calling Haydn Fleury from his conditioning assignment in the AHL the Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they’ve re-assigned defenseman Philippe Myers to their AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. Myers had been on the Lightning’s NHL roster since November 9th and only made his regular season debut with the team last night against the St. Louis Blues. The 26-year-old played 15:32 in last night’s game registering two shots on goal.

Myers was with Syracuse for the first month of the season and dressed in nine games for the Crunch. He registered two assists and was +7. This is the third consecutive year that Myers has seen significant time in the minors having played a total of 77 AHL games combined over the past three seasons. Despite so much time in the AHL, Myers has continued to collect NHL salaries the past three seasons including this one where he is making $1.4MM. Myers came over to the Lightning back in July 2022 in the trade that sent defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators.

Myers demotion could be a signal that defenseman Erik Cernak is ready to return from a reported concussion. Cernak didn’t play in last night’s game against the Blues but is considered day-to-day currently. If Cernak is able to return to the Lightning lineup he would represent a significant upgrade over Myers on Tampa Bay’s back end. While Cernak is not an offensive juggernaut as evidenced by his three assists in 15 games, he does offer a physical presence having dished out 33 hits already this year.

The Lightning need all of the help they can get at this point as they’ve started the season well below expectations with a 6-6-4 record. While on the surface, it would appear as though they have underwhelmed, but when injuries are factored into the equation the team has done well to weather the storm thus far.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Philippe Myers

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With defenseman Zach Bogosian off to the Minnesota Wild thanks to yesterday’s trade, the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled blueliner Philippe Myers from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

Bogosian spent the Lightning’s last game on the team’s bottom pairing next to Calvin de Haan, so with the trade yesterday Tampa Bay needed a new defenseman to fill that spot on the right side of the team’s blueline. In comes Myers, a six-foot-six veteran of over 150 NHL games.

Myers, 26, is an undrafted player who was acquired by the Lightning in the 2022 Ryan McDonagh trade. Optimistic that they could unlock the upside Myers once flashed as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Lightning signed Myers to an extension promising him a $1.4MM AAV through the end of this season.

Myers failed to secure a full-time spot with the Lightning last season, though, and ended up playing in 52 games for the Crunch, scoring 29 points to go alongside 88 penalty minutes. With this recall, he’ll get another chance to make his mark in Tampa.

East Notes: Andersen, Zamula, Lightning

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While the Hurricanes didn’t have goaltender Frederik Andersen available to them in last night’s overtime victory, he might not miss much more time.  Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer notes that the veteran skated today, suggesting he could be available to dress as early as Friday’s contest.  Andersen actually led Carolina in starts this season with 33 while posting a 2.48 GAA and a .903 SV% but it seems likely that he’ll need to wait a little longer to make his playoff debut with the Hurricanes as with Antti Raanta winning both starts so far in their series against the Islanders, it’s safe to say the net will still be his even if Andersen is ready to return.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley announced that defenseman Yegor Zamula underwent successful shoulder surgery back on April 10th, ending his season. While the 23-year-old won’t be able to play in Lehigh Valley’s playoff run, he will be ready to participate in training camp in September.  Zamula played in 14 games with Philadelphia this season, picking up four assists in 14 games while chipping in with a goal and 18 helpers in 44 contests with the Phantoms.
  • While they weren’t in uniform tonight, the Lightning have recalled defenseman Philippe Myers and winger Alex Barre-Boulet from AHL Syracuse, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The pair were listed on the roster report as healthy scratches.  With Syracuse not playing in the first round of the playoffs in the minors, it’s possible that the two players will stay up with Tampa Bay for a few days.  Myers played in 11 games this season with the Lightning while Barre-Boulet suited up just once.

Philippe Myers Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Myers has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.  He has been sent to the minors, creating enough cap space for Cirelli to be activated from LTIR.

Friday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed defenseman Philippe Myers on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team is expected to get Anthony Cirelli back soon, and will need cap space to activate him from long-term injured reserve.

It surprised many when the Lightning decided to keep Myers on the books this summer after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators in the Ryan McDonagh trade. A buyout would have actually given the team a cap credit of more than $616K, for the cost of a $633K penalty in 2023-24. Instead, they decided to not only keep his current deal in place but sign him to a one-year extension. Myers will make $1.4MM next season, after his current $2.55MM cap hit expires.

That kind of money likely means he clears waivers tomorrow, even if he has played okay this year. The Lightning are barely using him, but in his limited minutes, the 6’5″ defenseman does have three points and excellent possession numbers.

It very well may have been the emergence of another right-handed defenseman that could spell the end for Myers in Tampa Bay. Nick Perbix has gone from sixth-round afterthought to full-time NHL option in short order, racking up six points in 17 games so far this season. Those 17 NHL appearances match the total number of professional games he had played before this season, after signing out of St. Cloud State down the stretch. The 24-year-old is waiver-exempt and may still need to be bounced down at some point because of cap concerns, but looks like a piece to keep in Tampa Bay.

Sending Myers to the AHL would not clear his entire contract off the books. Only $1.125MM of the $2.55MM cap hit would be buried. If he is claimed, it would give them enough room to activate Cirelli without making an additional move.

Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Philippe Myers

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Before he’s even skated in a single game with them, the Lightning have decided to give Philippe Myers a one-year, $1.4MM contract extension. Myers was acquired by the Lightning as part of the Ryan McDonagh trade from earlier this summer. Myers’ current deal is at a $2.55MM cap hit and expires after this upcoming season.

Myers is actually an extremely interesting case going into this season, and now his situation is made even more interesting thanks to this contract extension. Once the Lightning acquired Myers, many assumed that the team would choose to buy him out. At the cost of some cap space next season, the Lightning, by buying out Myers, would actually have gotten a cap credit for this season, which is something most believed the ever cap-crunched Lightning could use this summer.

But with major extensions for Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli set to kick in next summer, it seems Lightning GM Julien Brisebois has decided to prioritize saving as much cap space for next summer as possible.

That’s where this extension for Myers fits in. Myers is a smooth-skating defenseman who originally earned the relatively lucrative extension he’s currently playing on from the Philadelphia Flyers. Myers was once believed to be a core part of the team’s future on the blueline, but the hopes for Myers’ future never materialized into highly competent play. Myers, now 25, struggled to stay healthy, wasn’t as productive as many had hoped, and even had to, at times, play as a fourth-line winger to stay in the lineup.

The Lightning, though, seem to believe that they have value in Myers that no other organization has been able to unlock. That belief is evidenced not only by the fact that they didn’t take the cap credit and buy him out this summer, but also now by this contract extension before he’s even played a game for them.

The Athletic’s Joe Smith went into great detail in a story covering why the Lightning are betting on Myers. (subscription link) In essence, the Lightning believe that their track record as one of the NHL’s best developers of talent puts them in a unique position to help Myers, a player they believe has “all the tools” to become a strong NHL-er but simply hasn’t yet put those tools together.

Quite honestly, it’s very difficult to be a naysayer when the Lightning make a move like this. Tampa has appeared in each of the past three Stanley Cup Finals and has won two of them. The Lightning have developed mid-to-late-round draft picks such as Brayden Point, Cirelli, Cernak, and Nikita Kucherov into impactful NHLers. They have been a veritable talent factory for the rest of the NHL, so when they show this level of confidence in their ability to turn around a player’s career, it’s difficult not to trust them.

Still, whether this contract and Brisebois’ faith in his development process is rewarded is ultimately down to Myers himself. If he can be what the Lightning believe he can be, this contract will be a steal and this move will be seen as another stroke of genius by one of the NHL’s most savvy front offices.

If it doesn’t work, the Lightning will likely suffer next season when they are extremely hard-pressed for cap space. But even if that’s the case, this is a relatively low-risk bet and exactly the sort of move a team like the Lightning should make to maximize the value it mines from its coaching and player development staff.

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators Acquire Ryan McDonagh

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Per their Twitter, the Tampa Bay Lightning confirmed that they have traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators. In exchange, the Lightning receive defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash from Nashville. It doesn’t appear that any salary has been retained in the trade. With the Lightning needing to make some tough salary cap decisions if they wanted to keep a majority of their core together, one name that was rumored to be on the move was McDonagh, and GM Julien BriseBois was able to make it happen. McDonagh carries a cap hit of $6.75MM for each of the next four seasons.

In McDonagh the Predators acquire a sturdy shutdown defenseman and veteran of 783 career regular season NHL games, in addition to 185 playoff games, including Stanley Cup Championships with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Originally the twelfth-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, McDonagh was traded to the New York Rangers two years later in the Scott Gomez deal. The defenseman went on to play in 516 regular season games for the Rangers, captaining the team from 2014-15 until his trade to the Lightning during the 2017-18 season. After the trade, the Predators still project to have just over $18.1MM in available salary cap space this offseason, which should be more than enough to make necessary moves and extend franchise-icon Filip Forsberg.

According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, it doesn’t appear the Lightning plan to buyout Myers’ contract (link). By keeping Myers in the fold, the Lightning still free up $4.2MM. With the departure of fellow right-shot defenseman Jan Rutta possible, Myers could serve as a replacement, having just one year left on his contract as opposed to unpredictable term and salary for Rutta. In speaking to the media, including The Athletic’s Joe Smith, BriseBois said that if the league wasn’t in a flat-cap situation, he would have never even thought of making the deal and asking McDonagh to wave his no-trade clause. Speaking of that clause, McDonagh currently carries a full no-trade clause, meaning the Lightning had to specifically seek his permission in order to make this trade, an experience BriseBois told Smith was not a pleasant one. As to replacing McDonagh, BriseBois told Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times that the plan is to elevate the role of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and continue to fill out the defense corps. Though a different handedness, that would seem to be in line with the choice to keep Myers rather than buy him out.

With the trade, Tampa Bay ships out a left-handed defenseman for a right-handed one in Myers, however he may not be with the team for long, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman points out, the team can buyout Myers’ contract and actually receive a cap credit of $617K this season, then owe just $633K in 2023-24. Right now, Myers is under contract through the 2022-23 season at $2.5MM. Though Myers’ cap hit is certainly not bad, it is somewhat high for a team fighting for every dollar to stay under the cap ceiling. Another option for the Lightning could be to trade Myers, avoiding his cap hit this year, but if they see value in having the cap credit this year with the cap hit next year, they may be inclined to simply buy him out now. With the credit, the Lightning would in effect pick up $7.13MM in cap space they did not have at this time yesterday (link).

Last, but certainly not least, is Mismash, who was a second-round pick, 61st overall, by Nashville in 2017. The forward played four seasons at the University of North Dakota, where he had 71 points in 117 college games before turning pro last season. In 57 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL last season, Mismash had six goals and six assists.

Nashville Predators Recall Philippe Myers

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In an interesting move, the Nashville Predators have recalled defenseman Philippe Myers from the AHL. He’s not coming back from the Milwaukee Admirals though, as Myers had been loaned out to the Toronto Marlies earlier this season. The move appeared to be connected to the Predators’ acquisition of Alex Biega at the deadline, one which cost them nothing more than future considerations. Given that Myers and the Marlies didn’t end up qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs, however, it makes sense for him to re-join Nashville for the postseason.

Of course, he also could have been sent back to the Admirals, who start their own playoff series on Friday. Perhaps he still will, but for now, he’s with the NHL squad as they prepare for game one tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche.

Myers, 25, was one of the two big pieces acquired in the offseason for Ryan Ellis, along with Nolan Patrick (who was then flipped for Cody Glass). Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in Nashville for the big defenseman, who played a total of 27 games with the club before being sent down. He cleared waivers just before the trade deadline, likely because of the contract that he still carries that comes with a cap hit of $2.55MM through the 2022-23 season.

It wasn’t so long ago that Myers looked like a player who could make that deal a bargain. The undrafted, 6’5″ defenseman was a star with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for two seasons before making his mark as a full-time option for the Philadelphia Flyers. While the multi-year deal was perhaps a bit premature, it still looked like a decent bet on a player who appeared to be a classic late bloomer. Unfortunately, things have gone the opposite direction, and Myers had just four points in those 27 games before his demotion this season.

Now, with a back-loaded contract set to pay him a salary of $3.8MM next season, Myers appeared to be a prime buyout candidate. If the Predators did so, they would actually earn a cap credit of $616,666 next season, before taking a penalty of $633,334 the year after. If the team is giving him a chance to join the group for the playoffs, perhaps he can change that future.

Philippe Myers Loaned To Toronto Marlies

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Alex Biega to the Nashville Predators on deadline day, the return was listed as future considerations. It seems now that those considerations may have revolved around Philippe Myers, the big defenseman who cleared waivers over the weekend.

Myers has been loaned from the Nashville Predators to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, where he will apparently continue his season instead of joining the Milwaukee Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the Predators.

The 25-year-old Myers, who once looked like he would be a long-term pillar in the Philadelphia Flyers defense corps, was traded to the Predators as a major part of the deal that sent Ryan Ellis out of town. His time in Nashville hasn’t gone smoothly though, registering just four points in 27 games while seeing his playing time trend endlessly downward. While he led of his season with 21 minutes against the Seattle Kraken in October, Myers was averaging just over 12 minutes by the end of his run earlier this month. After clearing waivers, it is not clear where exactly his future lies.

With a back-loaded contract that carries a $2.55MM cap hit through next season, Myers actually is an interesting buyout candidate for the Predators. Because of his age, the team would only need to cover one-third of the remaining salary, and it would actually result in a $616,666 cap bonus in 2022-23, before a $633,334 penalty in 2023-24. That is to say, the Predators could clear his entire hit off the books for next season and even create a little bit extra room, if they were to, for instance, be trying to fit in an expensive extension for a goal-scoring winger.

At any rate, it’s unclear how long his stay in Toronto will be, but the Marlies have for now added a player that was once a dominant presence at the AHL level. In 2018-19, before he burst onto the NHL scene, the undrafted Myers had 33 points in 53 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while being a physical defensive force in his own end.

Myers, Desrosiers Clear Waivers

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March 20: Myers and Desrosiers have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues. Mayhew was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks and will stay in the NHL for now.

March 19: With there being just two days before the trade deadline, there should be an uptick of waiver activity before then.  That started today as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Philippe Myers (Predators), Gerry Mayhew (Flyers), and Phillipe Desrosiers (Jets) are all on waivers.

Myers is easily the headline player on this list.  His stock has fallen sharply since establishing himself as a regular on Philadelphia’s back end in 2019-20.  He was part of the Ryan Ellis traded over the summer with the hope that a change of scenery would get him going again.  That hasn’t happened.  Instead, the 25-year-old has played in just 27 games this season while spending even more time as a healthy scratch.  With 142 games of NHL experience over four seasons and being a big right-shot defender, Myers could, in theory, be appealing to some teams.  However, he has a $2.55MM AAV through next season and his salary jumps to $3.8MM in 2022-23.  That will certainly limit his suitors which explains why he’s on the waiver wire today and not being traded.  Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press suggests (Twitter link) that the Flyers could be a team to claim Myers knowing that they’re likely to move pending UFA Justin Braun by Monday’s trade deadline.

Mayhew has played in 29 games with Philadelphia this season, his longest stretch of NHL action and he has been somewhat productive with six goals although he has yet to record an assist while logging over 12 minutes a game.  The 29-year-old has been a top scorer at the AHL level for the last several years and has 16 points in 24 games with Lehigh Valley of the AHL this season.  Mayhew is making $800K at the NHL level this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

As for Desrosiers, his placement means that he has agreed to an NHL deal with Winnipeg with the team announcing it will carry a $750K cap hit.  The 26-year-old has played in three games with their AHL affiliate in Manitoba this season but has spent the majority of the year with Trois-Rivieres of the ECHL.  He’ll continue to serve as extra depth for them but will now be eligible to be recalled if they need him.  The Jets had 10 open contract slots out of the maximum of 50 so there’s no risk in them handing out this contract.

Ryan Ellis, Phillippe Myers, Nolan Patrick, Cody Glass Swapped In Three-Team Trade

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Talk about going out with a bang. Just before the NHL entered a transaction freeze that lasts through Wednesday’s Expansion Draft, the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vegas Golden Knights completed a trade with a slew of big names. Nashville sent career Predator Ryan Ellis to Philadelphia in exchange for fellow defenseman Philippe Myers and center Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. The Predators then flipped Patrick to Vegas for another young center, Cody Glass, the No. 6 overall pick in 2017. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, this is a purely player-for-player trade with no picks or prospects changing hands.

At first glance, the biggest winner in this trade has to be the Flyers. While Nashville was exploring trading one of five defensemen that they would have liked to protect from expansion, Ellis was not considered to be a likely trade candidate. The 30-year-old right-hander has been an elite defenseman for the better part of the last decade with the Predators, playing big minutes and producing impressive point totals all while playing a sound defensive game. Admittedly, Ellis does carry some concerns, including an offensive drop-off this season, an injury history, and a contract with six years and $37.5MM remaining. However, at least in the short-term, he is an outstanding addition to the Flyers’ defense corps. Their core objective this off-season was to find a mate for Ivan Provorov on the top pair and that is now complete.

It is hard to take issue with the cost paid by the Flyers as well. Ellis, though much older and a very different style of player, is a tremendous upgrade to Myers on the Philly blue line. As a one-for-one swap, there is no question that Ellis is the better player right now and Myers will likely never reach that caliber of play either. As for Patrick, the young forward needed a change of scenery after his first few years as a pro player have been marked by injury and inconsistency. There was some discussion that Philadelphia could even leave Patrick exposed, given their vast number of valuable, expansion eligible forwards. By moving Patrick in this deal, the Flyers give up the upside of the former top pick, but gain protection flexibility in exchange. Leading scorer James van Riemsdyk or long-time standout Jakub Voracek, both previously expected to be exposed to the Seattle Kraken, could now step into Patrick’s vacancy.

As for Nashville, the deal solves some problems but all of them. The Predators have been looking to clear salary cap space this summer to improve their roster and do just that by getting out from under Ellis’ expensive long-term contract. However, by bringing in Myers they are still left with five defensemen that they would like to protect – Myers, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Dante Fabbro, and Alexandre Carrier – but only eight total skaters they can protect. Fortunately, the forward portion of their protection scheme is made easier by flipping Patrick for Glass, who is exempt from the Expansion Draft. Glass was never given consistent opportunity in Vegas possesses ample ability and could find success for Nashville right away.

Vegas was clearly unhappy with Glass’ development, leading to his benching in the postseason and trade rumors early this off-season. However, the team has been too quick to trade away prospects and picks in their early seasons of existence and losing Glass would have hurt their pipeline if he had been dealt in a deal for yet another veteran. Instead, they replace him with Patrick, who is still just 22 and has three seasons of NHL experience under his belt. Perhaps most importantly, Patrick has experience with Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon, the former GM of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings when Patrick was a superstar for the team. If anyone can help Patrick get back on track and reach his potential, it could be McCrimmon. In regards to the Expansion Draft, Vegas is exempt and taking advantage of that special privilege with what could turn out to be a major move down the road.

This is a landscape-shifting move for the Seattle Kraken, who now could see players for both Philadelphia and Nashville that they expected to be exposed now protected. It is believed that the Predators were seeking a side deal with Seattle and there is no word as to whether one has been completed or not, though Nashville appears to have some sort of trick up their sleeve. As for Philly, the Kraken probably believed that they could see at least two of Patrick, van Riemsdyk, and Voracek exposed, but now will not. GM Ron Francis and company have their work cut out for them in reacting to a wild pre-roster freeze flurry.

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