Analyst reports Leafs and Canucks discussing deal for defenseman; but it's not Luke Schenn
There were reports last week that the Leafs had interest in Canucks defenceman Luke Schenn and The Athletic went as far as putting a mock trade together. That mock trade saw the Leafs acquiring Schenn and Conor Garland for Alexander Kerfoot some draft picks and prospect.
Leaf fans, or the majority of them thought the deal was fair and solved two problems with one trade - a defenseman and second line winger without giving up too much. However, today Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has reported that the Leafs and Canucks have been engaged in discussions on another defender, Tyler Myers.
Myers has one more season after this season on his current contract that will pay him $6M, meaning Vancouver would likely have to retain some salary in the deal. Contract-wise, Myers is ideal as Kyle Dubas prefers players with term, however, statistically, Myers is not the best fit for the Leafs. While he does provide a massive amount of size and physicality to their back end, his underlying possession numbers have been downright awful. He is well below 50% corsi since joining the Canucks and has been for most of his career at all strengths and 5on5 and has been declining the past few years.
Playing in Vancouver does not help his situation and maybe hiding him on the third pairing will help, but if you're going to pay a third pairing defenceman $6M per season to play 10-12 minutes a night, Luke Schenn is a far better option at $850K for the rest of the season.
