REPORT: Labanc for Myers Trade on the Table?

Would you trade Kevin Labanc for Tyler Myers?

According to Frank Seravalli, that’s what the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks were discussing recently.

“My understanding was that the deal on the table was Tyler Myers straight up for Kevin Labanc,” Seravalli told Canucks Central on Monday.

For the Canucks, Labanc has a $4.725 million AAV for one more year, compared to Myers’s $6 million AAV for one more year.

That’s a 1.275 million savings on the cap for a Vancouver franchise that is looking to get back into the playoffs.

For the San Jose Sharks?

“In return, the Sharks get a guy that they feel might be a really flippable asset at the Deadline,” Seravalli suggested.

So what’s going on with this deal? It’s not moving quickly, that’s for sure. Five days ago, Seravalli had already connected the Sharks with Myers.

REPORT: Sharks Might Take On Tyler Myers’s Contract?

“My understanding was that the Canucks were absolutely exasperated that this was on the table and sat out there for so long,” Seravalli said on Monday.

Could the San Jose Sharks revive this deal?

Perhaps they’re waiting until Sept. 1, when Myers is due a $5 million bonus. If a team acquires him before that day, they would be on the hook for that cash.

After Sept. 1, however, they would owe Myers just $1 million cash of his $6 million AAV, though that entire AAV would count against their cap.

Another thing to consider, while Labanc and Myers both have unfavorable contracts, since they’re each just for one more year, Labanc could also be a flippable Deadline asset. So the question might become, who do you think will be more valuable at the Deadline?

My guess is the minutes-munching defenseman Myers: He’s averaged over 20 minutes a night in every season of his 14-year NHL career.

Meanwhile, while the 27-year-old Labanc is six years younger than Myers and is a highly-skilled winger, he’s also a little one-dimensional and there’s no telling how much he’s actually going to play under head coach David Quinn. Quinn benched and demoted Labanc multiple times last season.

But maybe the San Jose Sharks have something else in store for Labanc, which is why they left this deal on the table?