6'8" Tyler Myers breaks silence on his infamous hit on ex-Oilers' Duncan Keith - "He asked me if I was looking to kill him"

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers talked about the infamous hit he had laid on former Edmonton Oiler Duncan Keith during the Canucks' season opener on Oct. 13, 2021.

The hit occurred early in the first period. At 6-foot-8, Myers absolutely demolished the smaller Keith into the boards, immediately drawing blood. Keith was forced to leave the game briefly to get cleaned up, returning later with a bandage on his forehead.

On The Cam & Strick Podcast on Tuesday, Myers opened up about the hit and his relationship with Keith. When asked if it was his biggest hit ever, Myers responded (1:57:00):

"Funny thing about hits is they're not always intentional. Dunks is one of the guys I've always looked up to. When I made that hit, it just happened. I wasn't looking to hurt him; I was just trying to pinch the puck. My size came into play, we just happened to meet at the same time."

Myers shared that he and Keith have since talked things over. At a wedding last summer, they had a laugh about the incident over a drink.

"He asked me if I was looking to kill him, and I told him 'no, you're one of my idols,'" Myers revealed.

When asked about the extent of Keith's injury and whether he still has a scar, Myers downplayed it.

"He was bleeding pretty badly, but I don't think his head hit the boards. I'm not entirely sure what caused the bleeding, but he seemed okay. We joked about it later, and he was more amused than anything."

While the hit made waves at the time, Tyler Myers maintained that it was never intended to injure Keith and that it was just an unfortunate collision between two players.

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Tyler Myers on making clean hits

Tyler Myers discussed the challenge of making clean, open-ice hits as a 6-foot-8 defenseman. He noted that with his size, it can be difficult to avoid catching players with an elbow or putting himself in a precarious position.

Myers explained (1:59:40):

"It is tough. It's something I still feel like I have to watch out for. … The bigger guys. You know, I do feel like it's easier to get called on. So, you really have to make sure you're aware of, you know, where you are on the ice and what you're doing with your body."

Tyler Myers pointed out that while some big defensemen like Matt Rempe often make hits that draw penalties, he has worked hard to master the skill of clean checks.

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Edited by Bhargav