Shortly after the Buffalo Sabres traded Michael Kesselring, rumors began to swirl that another defenseman could be on the move. It was reported that 'multiple teams' were showing interest in Bowen Byram as he enters his final season.
There are plenty of teams who should be interested in Byram, as he has already done a lot in his career and is only 25 years old. According to David Pagnotta with The Fourth Period, one of those teams could be the Nashville Predators with new general manager Chris MacFarland.
MacFarland should know Byram well from their time together in Colorado. He had been with the Avalanche since 2015 and was assistant general manager when they selected Byram fourth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was also the general manager when they traded Byram to Buffalo for Casey Mittlestadt at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
Bowen Byram would be an immediate upgrade for the Nashville Predators' blueline
For the Predators, they essentially are able to check everything off that Byram reportedly is looking for. He is under contract for one more year, but is reportedly looking for a contract with an AAV of around $10 million, and the Predators should have no problem fitting that contract into their salary cap.
The one thing that the Predators can offer that the Sabres won't be able to is Byram's desire to be viewed as a number one defenseman on his team. The Sabres have Rasmus Dahlin and the hope is that he is not going anywhere any time soon.
Meanwhile, the Predators have an aging blueline with players like Roman Josi and Brady Skeji both over 32 years old.
Who could the Buffalo Sabres be interested in as part of a trade?
There is plenty of pieces that make the Nashville Predators a logical landing spot for Bowen Byram but for the Buffalo Sabres they need to make a deal that makes sense for them. If I was Jarmo Kekalainen, two players who I would immediately be interested in is Ryan O'Reilly and defenseman Nicklaus Perbix.
These two players could help address needs that the Sabres have this summer at center while also adding a defenseman who could play next to Owen Power.
O'Reilly is a player the Sabres know well and spent three seasons in Buffalo before being traded to St. Louis. He was very productive in Buffalo but had his best seasons after being traded with winning the Selke Trophy and then the Conn Smythe Trophy in his first season with the Blues.
Meanwhile, Perbix is not necessarily going to play at the level that Byram did but has shown he can be a productive defensemen after three seasons with the Lightning and last season with the Predators. The combination of O'Reilly and Perbix is only $7.25 million in salary while Byram is set to count $6.25 million against the Sabres' salary cap.
There may need to be more to the deal but this could be the framework to start for a trade between the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators.
Add us as a preferred source on Google