If there is one thing the Buffalo Sabres have an abundance of, it's young defenseman. During the 2024-25 season, Connor Clifton was the only defenseman with regular playing time who was over the age of 26, with him having turned 30 in April.
With such an abundance of young talent, the Sabres are in a position to move one of them to improve the team in other areas. With how valuable young NHL talent is, any of these defensemen would net a nice return.
The most likely candidate to get moved is Bowen Byram. The 23-year-old defenseman has been in Buffalo since being acquired from the Avalanche at the 2024 trade deadline. He has spent a year and a half in Buffalo, appearing in 100 games and racking up 10 goals and 37 assists for 47 points. While it's always difficult to move on from a young player, it's the best thing the Sabres can do.
Why the Sabres should trade Bowen Byram
The biggest reason why Byram is so easy to move is that he's not locked up long-term. He's currently set to become a restricted free agent this offseason. With his play, age, and the salary cap increasing by $7.5 million, it's the perfect storm to land Byram a long-term contract with a very high average annual value. It does not appear to be something that the Sabres are interested in doing.
While the Sabres have the money to sign him, there are bigger areas of need on the roster. As mentioned before, the Sabres have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to young defenseman.
However, more specifically, they have a ton of young defenseman who can play on the left side. Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are both left-handed defensemen who you can argue have been better than Byram. This has caused Byram to play on the right side, limiting his impact.
With Dahlin and Power already locked up to long-term deals, it makes no sense to sign a third left-handed defenseman to a long-term contract, especially when there are so many other issues on the roster to address. The Sabres need upgrades at goaltender as well as a forward who can make an impact in the top six. Giving eight million to a position you have an abundance of is bad asset management.
Trading Byram opens another avenue for the Sabres to improve. With the upcoming free agent class being called weak, it will be hard for them to upgrade the roster solely through free agency. If they want to make drastic changes to the roster, they will have to get creative and make moves beyond just signing players. Byram can land at least one NHL-ready player, plus other draft picks and minor league players.
With teams like the Rangers and the Red Wings seemingly desperate for help on their blue line, they should be heavily interested in Byram. Along with other teams, it's very likely a bidding war could occur, driving up Byram's value even more.
A bidding war will land the Sabres an even better return. If the Sabres are serious about trying to compete in a few seasons, they need to trade Byram this offseason.
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