The Buffalo Sabres shocked the world on Tuesday when they traded Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks. It wasn’t moving a former top-talent defenseman that shocked people, but it was the return they got that has everyone in Buffalo excited.
Jarmo Kekäläinen made the blockbuster move after Kyle Davidson of the Blackhawks made the fourth-overall pick available. He added a few other assets, but getting a top-five pick for a defenseman who is essentially expendable for the team with a perennial Norris Trophy contender in Rasmus Dahlin is some pretty nifty business. A fourth-overall pick doesn’t get traded very often. To get that for Byram of all things is like finding money.
With the pick, the Sabres have a few options. They can make the pick. Some reports say they want to target a center in the draft, but there are also reports that they are still looking at trades. The Sabres could really use a center, but there aren’t a ton that are available. They could still use this pick to massively upgrade the top-six, and they could get one of the best available forwards from a division rival.
Word of discussions with Buffalo and the 4th overall pick.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) June 24, 2026
San Jose also said to be of interest here as well.
Montreal remains interested, but hard to compete with the above teams. https://t.co/OAwk8WMzg1
The Buffalo Sabres have been connected to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies
Marco D’Amico of RG Media has been looking into the Matthew Knies market, and it appears some new teams have joined the fray. With the fourth-overall pick in tow, the Sabres now make a lot of sense here.
Knies brings a lot of what the Sabres would want, even if he’s not playing their most desired position. Not only does he add offense, but he does it with grit and size that usually help in the trenches. Knies was dragged down by that terrible Toronto team from last season, which is why his goal totals went from 29 to 23. His point totals overall grew to 66 last season.
Is the fourth-overall pick worth what Knies brings to the table? We have to remember that this is a 23-year-old winger. The former second-round pick has become the type of player that teams can build around. Isn’t that what teams are striving to get with the fourth-overall pick?
If the Sabres took, say, Viggo Bjorck, and his ceiling became 60-70 points sustained over his career, nobody would call him a bust. So why not just go out and get that now?
We could see Kekäläinen making another big splash before the draft on Friday. Knies would certainly equate to a splash. Not only are they getting a star for a pick they got in a Bowen Byram trade, but they are getting one that’s signed for $7.75 million until 2031. After signing Zach Benson on Wednesday to a long-term deal, this gives the Sabres five high-quality forwards signed until at least 2030 and all making less than $8 million per season (including Josh Norris, Tage Thompson, and Josh Doan).
The Sabres went from a laughing stock around the league to quickly building something special. Kekäläinen has shown he can create a playoff contender, but now he wants more. For the first time in a long time, Sabres fans can dream.
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