After the Buffalo Sabres' season ended with their loss to the Montreal Canadiens, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen made it clear that one of his priorities was to extend Bowen Byram. However, that desire has quickly changed, and Byram is now on his way to the Chicago Blackhawks in a pre-draft trade.
In return for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway, the Buffalo Sabres have acquired the fourth overall pick in the first round of the upcoming NHL Draft, a second-round pick (45th overall), and Louis Crevier, according to Frank Seravalli.
Bowen Byram joined the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline and would play 182 games over three seasons. This past season was by far his best, with a career-high 42 points in the regular season and another seven points in 13 playoff games.
Even though the Sabres wanted to re-sign Bowen Byram, it appeared they couldn't give him the one thing that he wanted, which was being the number one defenseman for his team. It was probably why the Avalanche traded him when they had Cale Makar and the Sabres had Byram in a similar spot with Rasmus Dahlin.
Buffalo Sabres must now fill a big hole on their blueline ahead of next season
Byram now has that chance with the Chicago Blackhawks, but the Buffalo Sabres now have a big hole to fill on their blueline. One of the strengths for this team last season was their Top 4 of Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, and Byram, which really no other team could match in terms of talent.
The good news is that the remaining three are under contract for the next few seasons, and Jarmo Kekalainen only has to worry about this spot during that time period. For the Sabres, they could move Conor Timmins up from the third pair or look to add a veteran with free agency right around the corner.
After a second straight summer of trade rumors surrounding Bowen Byram, the defenseman now has a new home and the Sabres have something in return before he hit free agency next offseason.
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