Oilers interested in Tyler Myers?

Without the foresight of knowing exactly where the Oilers will draft, it is hard to decide how I feel about what McKenzie said. Myers isn’t currently a bonafide number-one defenseman, but he is closer than anything that the Oilers currently have at the NHL level. He is a former NHL rookie of the year and is only 24 years old and at an age where many of the league’s top rearguards begin to assert themselves as top players. He is big, plays in all situations, and clearly has talent. He checks off many boxes on the Mactavish’s shopping list. However, he would also be a huge gamble as he hasn’t been able to put it all together after two very good early seasons.

So would a top-5 pick be too heavy of a price to pay?

With the benefit of hindsight I can answer my own question; Leon Draisaitl would have been too heavy of a price to pay. The reason? Myers still is a project and a gamble and an 18 year old gamble in the form of Draisaitl is a better bet than a 25 year gamble in the form of Myers. However, even though Myers hasn’t established himself as a “bonafide number-one defenseman,” he is better than most of defensemen on the current Oilers’ roster.

So what would a fair price be?

The Spector’s Hockey post referenced above sites a rumor that states the current ask for Myers is “two high-end prospects and a draft pick.” What constitutes a high-end prospect? Are Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom the only two ‘high-end’ prospects not currently on the Oilers NHL roster? Do Greg Chase or Marco Roy qualify? Chase was an 85 point player in the WHL last season and has 15 points in 13 games this year. Roy is just under a point-per-game player in the QMJHL. On defense would Musil, Simpson, Gernat or Davidson whet the Sabres appetite?

How about the draft pick? Surely Mactavish wouldn’t give up the coveted 2015 first rounder, but how about the Oilers first pick in 2016? Does it even have to be a first round pick or would a second round pick do?

One has to wonder if this rumor has any meat to it and if it does the scarcity of the report leaves more questions than answers.

Nurse or Klefbom would be an overpay as it is conceivable, though not a guarantee, that either player could evolve into a comparable player to what Myers is now. In the case of Nurse, he could end up being much better. The 2015 first round pick would be a non-starter as well. However, the 2016 first rounder wouldn’t be an outright “no” and the same would apply to any picks falling outside the first round.

Would a package of Chase, Simpson, and the 2016 first round pick be too much? If it were me, I’d do that trade but I doubt the Sabres would. I’m sure Tim Murray’s ask would open with Nurse or Klefbom and, as mentioned, that would be too high of a price to pay. What are the odds Mactavish can substitute some of his other chips as “high-end-prospects” and trade a pick other than the 2015 first round selection for Myers? Probably not likely, but fans of the Edmonton Oilers can hope.