With Toronto's offseason changes, Philippe Myers has become one of the team's top choices to trade away to open up both cap and roster space.
John Chayka knew that one of his top goals this offseason was to make sure that the Toronto Maple Leafs defensive corps was a lot more mobile, a little bit younger, and much more capable of preventing chances - especially after giving up the second most goals in the NHL.
He added names like Emil Andrae and Darren Raddysh while also re-signing Troy Stecher. He also got rid of Simon Benoit, and there's reported trade talks involving Morgan Rielly should he decide to waive his NMC.
Toronto's rebuilt defence has pushed Philippe Myers off the depth chart
The team certainly added much more mobility and power-play help when it comes to the blueline, though there's one player lost in the fold who is likely headed out of town - Philippe Myers.
Signed as a free agent in the summer of 2024, Myers was expected to bring not only size, but some playmaking and a right-handed shot to a team that sorely lacked all three. But he didn't really impress much, and this past season was a rough one altogether.
In 39 games, Myers had two assists, a minus-10, and 35 giveaways to only four takeaways. Many times this year we saw Myers out of position, or unable to shut opponents down. He had a horrible -8.5 xGF/xGA differential, and was expected to be scored on 23.2% of the time opposed to being expected to score only 14.6% of the time.
He already felt like he was on the outs last season as he barely played despite the Maple Leafs needing as many bodies as possible. He was brought in as depth but quickly got usurped by Stecher - who earned a new contract this summer.
Trading Myers would help solve a roster problem for the Maple Leafs
That makes Myers more than expendable and the defenceman may not get much in terms of a return, but the focus isn't getting something back but giving him away in the first place. A low draft pick or future considerations is more than enough to take his $850,000 off the books and open up a roster spot for a potential PTO or new signing.
Plus, moving him would give way to a younger defenceman like William Villeneuve or Ben Danford to more easily have a path to the lineup, and both are right-handed shots who can offer offence (Villeneuve) or shutdown defence (Danford).
There's currently no public indication the team is going to move Myers and he very well could be waived and sent to the AHL as a potential move. But then the team has to worry about a spot for him there, and they are already full on the blueline.
Toronto has already shown no hesitancy to get rid of players that don't fit their new mentality, as we saw Benoit traded because he wasn't as mobile or offensive gifted as others like Andrae and Raddysh.
Myers is in the same boat, and if the Maple Leafs need to make space, then the logical choice is to get rid of the player who's barely being used.
Was Philippe Myers a wasted signing by the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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