Sabres gauging Bowen Byram's trade market

After his name sat low on trade burners throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the Sabres are now more seriously gauging what might be available on the trade market for pending restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on yesterday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

Byram, acquired from the Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt at the 2024 trade deadline, is coming off his first full season in Buffalo. The 23-year-old had, by basic metrics, the best season of his five-year NHL career. While injury concerns had plagued the 2019 No. 4 overall pick’s likelihood of becoming an everyday top-four piece in recent years, he managed a full 82-game season in 2024-25 in career-high usage. Byram averaged 22:42 of ice time per game, second on the team behind No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, and recorded a career-high 31 assists, 38 points, and a +11 rating.

But with fellow lefties Dahlin and Owen Power in the mix, the Sabres have struggled to find the right fit for Byram in their depth chart. As a result, he spent most of the season playing top-pair minutes on his offside with Dahlin. He also had some more unfavorable possession metrics than one would expect, given his plus-minus mark tied for the third-highest on the team. The Sabres only controlled 49.3% of shot attempts and 47.8% of expected goals with him on the ice at even strength. Those are far worse numbers than he had when skating with Dahlin (53.1 xGF%, per MoneyPuck). His possession numbers nosedived when paired with Power or Connor Clifton, his two other usual linemates in 2024-25.

With Byram recently switching representation as his previous two-year, $7.7MM contract expires, Buffalo may have some hesitancy around the likelihood of being able to agree on a long-term contract. While he told reporters during his year-end media availability that he sees a long-term fit with the Sabres, his poor two-way showings away from Dahlin this year may mean the feeling isn’t mutual, especially amid an organizational logjam among left-shot defensemen.

That could lead to Byram, who also co-led the team with 116 blocked shots, landing on his third team in as many seasons in 2025-26. AFP Analytics projects a longer-term extension for the British Columbia native to come in north of $7MM per season with a five-year term. If Buffalo were to pay that, they would have three defenders over a $7MM cap hit and five players in total – a somewhat eyebrow-raising number for a club amid a 14-year playoff drought.