Grading the Blackhawks’ Shocking Trade for Bowen Byram

The problem with Byram’s microstats profile is that the impacts have never followed. He had a solid season at five-on-five in Buffalo, but head coach Lindy Ruff’s system has always catered well to defensemen. John Klingberg had his best years in Dallas when Ruff was the Stars’ head coach, and Dougie Hamilton had a career in 2022-23 when Ruff was behind the New Jersey Devils’ bench.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Byram had the best season of his career in 2025-26 under Ruff’s watch, but he will not be walking into a similar environment in Chicago. The Blackhawks were one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL this season, and they’re now expecting Byram to be a No. 1, which he has not shown to this point in his career.

Plus, Byram could be in line for an extension that comes with an eight-figure cap hit. That wouldn’t kick in until July 1, 2027, but it’s another factor that you can’t ignore. The Blackhawks would have been better off hanging on to the fourth overall pick and selecting a defenseman, because there are decent odds that player could be as good, or even better, than Byram down the road.

This is just incomprehensible asset management from the Blackhawks. Byram is probably a No. 3 or 4 defenseman on a Cup contender, and I’d be shocked if he suddenly becomes a true top-pair defender. This just feels like an organization that’s gotten a bit desperate and is looking to rush a rebuild. Just ask the Detroit Red Wings how that’s gone for them. It won’t end well.

Blackhawks Grade: D

Sabres Cooked

How the pendulum has swung for the Sabres, am I right? This is an absolute home run, grand slam, or however you want to phrase it, for GM Jarmo Kekalainen. While Byram fit well with what they wanted to do, he will not be worth the payday he commands with an extension.

Plus, the Sabres already have a surplus of left-handed shots on defense. Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson played significant time on the right side this season, so one of them could shift back to the left with Byram heading to the Blackhawks.

Plus, the Sabres managed to free up a bit of cap space by moving Jordan Greenway to the Blackhawks. He’s a fine bottom-six forward, but it won’t be difficult to replace him with the number of young forwards they have coming up.

It’ll be interesting to see what Kekalainen has cooking with the fourth overall pick. You don’t see top-five picks move around from team to team too often, but the Sabres are officially in win-now mode. It would not shock me if Kekalainen packages that pick for a blockbuster addition. Time will tell, but I love this move for the Sabres. I don’t give A-pluses too often, but they deserve one for this.

Sabres Grade: A+

Microstats from Hockey Stats