Philippe Myers was a miss for the Tampa Bay Lightning

A year ago, when the Tampa Bay Lightning orchestrated the Ryan McDonagh trade to the Nashville Predators, it brought forth a noteworthy acquisition – Philippe Myers, a then-25-year-old defenseman.

During the preceding summer, Myers stood out as a compelling trade target, mainly due to his contract’s unconventional nature and not his play on the ice. This contract held a distinctiveness because initiating a buyout would have yielded an astonishing -$616,666 cap hit for the 2022-23 season. This seemingly inconceivable figure was the result of two factors: firstly, his age below 26, which the CBA dictates that players under 26 subject to buyouts receive only 1/3 of their remaining base salary; secondly, his scheduled base salary of $3.8M, contrasting sharply with his cap hit of $2.55M. This confluence of elements would have led to a cap savings of $3.167M in 2022-23, coupled with a mere $633K penalty for the 2023-24 season.

In a surprising move, Tampa Bay not only chose to retain Myers but also inked him to a 1-year contract worth $1.4M for the 2023-24 season in August of last year.

Julien BriseBois, hailed as one of the preeminent General Managers in the hockey realm, exhibited an unforeseen lapse in judgment when it came to Myers, in my opinion. The crux of the matter lies in two aspects. Firstly, Myers saw action in only 11 games last season, none of which took place after Thanksgiving; his remaining time was spent stationed in Syracuse. Secondly, the failure to capitalize on the buyout prospect translated into a substantial loss of approximately $2M in cap space for last season. The alternative would have been a buyout with a cap hit of -$616K, but the decision to retain Myers necessitated contending with a $1.425M buried cap hit (the NHL allowed a maximum cap saving of $1.125M for sending a player to the AHL, per the CBA) for a significant portion of the season, thus culminating in a net loss of $2.04M.

In the context of the financially constrained Tampa Bay Lightning, every single dollar holds significant weight. Could an additional $2M have provided them with the means to retain defenseman Jan Rutta, who inked a 3-year, $2.75M AAV contract with Pittsburgh in July 2022? Although speculation lingers, the undeniable potential to reinforce the team’s depth with a couple of million dollars looms large.

Furthermore, due to Myers’ current $1.4M contract for this season, the team’s options for sending him down to the AHL become more intricate. With the AHL burying limit at $1.15M, the organization would need to absorb a $250K hit if they opt to send him down.

In the event that Philippe Myers had a full season in the NHL and performed commendably, this narrative might have taken a different course. Regrettably, the franchise squandered a golden opportunity to leverage a unique contract arrangement, thus forsaking over $2M in potential savings.

Though Julien BriseBois has adeptly guided the Tampa Bay Lightning to two Stanley Cup championships and three Stanley Cup Final appearances, his inability to seize upon an exceptional buyout situation has reverberated negatively. Compounding this, the principal return from the Ryan McDonagh trade proved underwhelming, while the missed opportunity to harness $2M to fortify the team ultimately culminated in a first-round exit for the first time in four years.