NHL
The Bowen Byram situation continues to hang over the Buffalo Sabres’ offseason. And as the dust has settled on free agency, the St. Louis Blues have been trying hard to trade for Byram, a league source told The Athletic. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights are also among the teams that have expressed serious interest.
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Byram, 24, is a restricted free agent and hasn’t signed a new contract yet. He’s coming off a career-best 38 points after playing 82 games for the first time in his career. Already a Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche, Byram is the type of mobile, puck-moving defenseman teams covet.
The problem in Buffalo is that the Sabres already have big money tied up in two other left-handed, mobile defensemen. Rasmus Dahlin makes $11 million per year, while Owen Power makes $8.3 million per year. Both are 25 and under and eat up most of the power-play time. Byram would ideally like to find a path to a bigger role. That’s why his name has been in trade rumors all offseason.
But Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has decided to play the waiting game. With reports that teams are contemplating an offer sheet for Byram, Adams said this week, the Sabres are prepared to match. The team has an estimated $12.8 million in salary cap space.
“The moves we’ve made and decisions we’ve made for weeks now are with that in mind, Adams said. “We’ll be matching and have the opportunity to have a player under contract who we think helps our team win.”
Adams said if the right trade is out there, he’s willing to make a move. But he’s not interested in dealing Byram for future assets. He wants players who help the team win now.
Byram is two years away from unrestricted free agency and has arbitration rights. He hired Darren Ferris as his agent this offseason, and contract projections have his value between $5 million and $6 million per year on a shorter-term deal. But his value could push $8 million or more per year on a long-term deal.
Keep in mind, Ferris is also the agent of St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg. He helped orchestrate the offer sheets for both Broberg and Dylan Holloway when the two were with the Edmonton Oilers, which led to them joining the Blues last season.
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So there are several layers to the situation, and now with other names checked off The Athletic’s free-agency and trade boards, Byram’s will be at the top.
Sabres beat writer Matt Fairburn and Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford looked at the fit, cost and other factors.
Byram, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche but also missed a lot of time with concussions early in his career. Colorado traded him to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt at the deadline in 2024 to address a need at center. Buffalo got the best of that deal. Byram hasn’t been perfect with the Sabres. His numbers have been much better when he plays with Dahlin than when he plays away from him. And the logjam on Buffalo’s depth chart that we noted above could have him on the move again.
The Blues are trying to revamp their defense and get younger. They’ve made major renovations, adding Broberg (24 years old) and Logan Mailloux (22). Byram (24) could fit into their plans perfectly. The Blues currently have Cam Fowler and Broberg in their top four on the left side. Byram is a left-shot who can also play the right side, so if they were able to include Justin Faulk in the trade, he could take Faulk’s spot. With Fowler having just one season left on his contract, if he’s not renewed, Byram could play in the top four on the left side in the future.
Here’s what the D pairings could look like in 2025-26 with Byram and without Faulk:
Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg – Bowen Byram
Tyler Tucker – Logan Mailloux
After trading away JJ Peterka, the Sabres could use some scoring, especially at wing. Of course, trading away Byram might open up a need for another defenseman, too. Any trade involving Buffalo comes with a disclaimer that any player with trade protection in his contract is going to be tough to acquire because the Sabres are on a lot of no-trade lists. That’s a roadblock to acquiring Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn and even Fowler.
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Of the players without trade protection, wingers Jake Neighbours and Holloway and defenseman Broberg make the most sense for Buffalo. Holloway would be a slam dunk for what the Sabres need, but the Sabres might need to offer more than Byram in that case. They do have a lot of prospects and draft capital to offer, as well as younger roster players such as Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs.
Neighbours feels like a realistic value for Byram as the core of a deal. He could play on one of Buffalo’s top two lines on the left side, and his scoring ability would soften the blow of losing Peterka.
Jake Neighbours – Josh Norris – Tage Thompson
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Josh Doan
Jordan Greenway – Peyton Krebs – Justin Danforth
Here’s where it gets sticky, as it does with a lot of trades, finding the perfect match. Buffalo wants NHL players in return to help win now — not prospects or picks — and the Blues don’t want to create another hole on their roster.
GM Doug Armstrong knows that if he wants Byram, he’ll have to pay the price. He knew that when he made the trade with the Montreal Canadiens for Mailloux, and gave up a promising player in Bolduc. But because he let go of Bolduc, I find it hard to believe that he would part with Neighbours. Armstrong got calls on Neighbours, 23, at last year’s trade deadline and held firm on keeping a player who could be the Blues’ captain one day. And Holloway would be a non-starter to me.
The fact that the Sabres would be asking for one of the Blues’ top-six forwards, I feel, is probably why this deal hasn’t been made already. It would be great in Armstrong’s mind to add Byram, but the Blues will be missing some scoring with Bolduc’s departure. While the club has high hopes for prospects Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky, losing a player such as Neighbours just wouldn’t help them accomplish what they’re trying to accomplish. They’d much prefer to deal from their prospect pool, which The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked No. 14 in the NHL in January.
But again Buffalo fans, I can’t stress enough that if the Blues want Byram that badly and the Sabres don’t want futures, the return will hurt in some manner or another.
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The Sabres’ blue line looks solid with Byram in the mix, but given his contract situation and Buffalo’s need at forward, moving him to address other needs makes sense. The Blues have a lot of interesting pieces that could make them logical trade partners for the Sabres. If Buffalo can acquire one of Neighbours or Holloway in a deal like this, it’s worth pursuing.
To me, only if Faulk is included in the deal, opening a spot in the top four and moving on from the two years of his contract ($6.5 million AAV). But who knows if Buffalo wants the 33-year-old, and who knows if Faulk has the Sabres on his modified, 15-team no-trade list? Even if Faulk could be part of the deal, the Blues would have to be giving up a lot more. It could make sense, but I don’t know if Armstrong and Adams can find common ground.
(Photo of Jake Neighbours and Bowen Byram: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
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