The Tampa Bay Lightning are rolling the dice on a risky asset.
As training camp approaches, the Lightning opted to lock in the main piece they received in return for Ryan McDonagh this summer, agreeing to terms with defenseman Philippe Myers on a one-year contract extension worth $1.4 million.
It was not an easy season for Myers in 2021-22.
The 25-year-old failed to carve out a regular role on the Nashville Predators’ blueline to start the year, playing in only 27 games in which he racked up just one goal and three assists for four points while logging under 15 minutes in average nightly ice time.
That performance led the Predators to write Myers out of their plans entirely, sending him to the AHL and then loaning him to the Toronto Marlies where he played out the remainder of the season. In 16 games with the Marlies, who did not own his rights, Myers indeed showed signs of promise, finishing with a respectable two goals and five assists for seven points in 16 games.
Interestingly, the Lightning actually could have afforded themselves extra cap space for the coming season if they had opted to buy Myers out. Thanks to an odd wrinkle in his contract, Myers would have afforded the team a sizable salary cap credit for the season ahead before turning into a $633,000 buyout penalty in 2023-24 if that was the route the Lightning were willing to take, effectively erasing an extra $617,000 off of their books for 2022-23 by cutting Myers loose.
But the Lightning seem to like the tools Myers is working with, as GM Julien Brisebois told reporters back in June upon acquiring him.
If anyone can pull some value out of Myers, it seems to be the Lightning. It’ll be interesting to see how this ends.
