The Sabres have locked up not only one of the NHL's best young defensemen, General Manager Darcy Regier said, they have one of the best defensemen period. And they have him for eight more years.
The Sabres and Tyler Myers took less than two weeks to hammer out a seven-year contract extension, signing the $38.5 million deal today that will keep the defenseman in Buffalo through the 2018-19 season. Myers was pleased the team initiated the talks just before the 21-year-old started the final year of his entry-level contract.
"I've wanted to be a Sabre for a long time, and I'm very excited," Myers said in First Niagara Center.
Myers, the 12th overall pick of the 2008 draft and 2010 Rookie of the Year, is in line to be the Sabres' cornerstone defenseman, a role he's seemed destined to fill since cracking the lineup as a 19-year-old.
"It's been nothing short of a terrific start to what I think will be a fantastic career," Regier said.
The signing added even more buoyancy to Sabreland, which has been floating in Hockey Heaven for months.
"Our team is better than last year," owner Terry Pegula said, "and we finished pretty good last year. That should be a good feeling for everybody."
---John Vogl
