www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130322/SPORTS/130329743/1004
Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd then, this gem:
What??????
Sabres fans will be thrilled to know that Tyler Myers is happy with his game these days. Granted, the standard is low. Myers was horrible and out of shape when the NHL lockout ended in January. He was benched for two games in February.
Now, at the start of spring, one month after Lindy Ruff’s firing, the 23-year-old defenseman has finally reached the point where you can characterize his play as somewhere around average.
“The last 10 games have been really good,” Myers said before Thursday’s game against Toronto at First Niagara Center. “There’s definitely still more there, but I’ve been focusing on my defensive end. There’s always room for improvement, but it’s right where I want it to be.”
“Ron [Rolston] has told me he doesn’t care if I get another point the rest of the year,” Myers said. “So my main focus has been the D-zone, and that’s been really good for the most part. I’ll find my offensive game again. I’m not worried about that.”
You’d think we were discussing some rookie, instead of a fourth-year man who got a seven-year, $38.5 million contract extension last July. The Sabres are one of the worst teams in the NHL, a defensive wreck. They got their coach fired. And their 6-foot-8 franchise defenseman is taking baby steps.
Myers has been better under Ron Rolston. Is he more comfortable with Ruff gone?
Myers laughed. “I mean, it’s different for sure. But I can’t take anything away from Lindy. He helped me tremendously when he was here, and helped me improve a lot. In saying that, Ron’s been really good with me as well. He’s been really supportive and positive with me. It’s been good.”
Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd then, this gem:
But do you build a team around a defenseman who isn’t tough to play against, who comes out mentally soft after a great rookie year or a lucrative new contract, who leaves his goalie out to dry on far too many occasions, and who played his worst with his coach under fire?
What do you say, I asked Myers, to the idea that it’s not enough to be good, that you need to be great?
“I just feel like you’re putting more pressure on me,” he said. “No, I’m satisfied with good. No, I’m not. I think any player would want to move up with how they’re playing. It’s only natural if you want to get better, so I’m not worried about finding it again. I know it’ll come.”
What??????