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Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres (Evan Sabourin / The Hockey Writers)

Sabres Should Not Trade Away Defenseman Bowen Byram

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jacob D. Strozyk | Last updated Feb 1, 2025 8:35 AM ET

With all of the many different big trades going on around the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres have been oft mentioned in rumors as a team that has multiple assets to move. With the biggest rumor being their potential move for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, one of the players in question being talked about as a return for the star center is Sabres defender Bowen Byram. Having been recently traded to the Sabres himself, getting flipped again so soon would not make much sense unless it was for significant value. While it makes some sense to potentially include a player of his caliber in that deal, there are a lot more reasons to hold on to a player like him.

Byram’s Value to the Sabres

Since essentially the beginning of the season, Byram has been a mainstay as a defensive pair with Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, and the two of them have been dynamite together. Dahlin has shown over the years that he does not need an amazing partner to be at his best, but a different side of his game shows when he does have a partner like Byram alongside him. Byram does not play like a second-pair defender, and he has a complete element to his game that would make him a number-one defender on most rosters, but with Dahlin taking that spot, he is a very close number two. His veteran knowledge as a Stanley Cup winner is something invaluable to a team like this, and continuing to grow alongside a partner like Dahlin would only benefit them both.

He currently sits third amongst Sabres defenders in points with 24 in 50 games, is second in goals with five, and leads all Sabres defenders in plus/minus (while simultaneously being tied for second overall on the team with Ryan McLeod) at plus-7. He is one of the smartest players on the ice every night, and he plays the game well at both ends. He can score goals in a multitude of ways, and his playmaking has improved significantly this season.

Comparing Byram to Power

The question most-often posed is whether the Sabres should keep Owen Power or Byram. The likelihood of them being able to retain both is slim, so it’s best to compare the two and weigh the options general manager (GM) Kevyn Adams has at his disposal. They both have youth on their side as Power is 22 years old and Byram is 23. Both have similar play styles as they are offensively-inclined defenders with a knack for creating scoring chances. The difference is in how they create those chances, as Byram is more inclined to shoot the puck and make a rush up the ice and Power is more keen on making a pass and setting up plays from further back before he shoots. Both have yielded similar point scoring results, so offensively, it is a wash.

Things tip in Byram’s favor defensively and physically. Power finds himself being outworked, out-positioned, and outmuscled on a regular basis, and he does not have the foot speed just yet to catch a lot of the top scorers in the NHL. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 225 pounds, he tends to rely on his reach to save him rather than his strength, and that has hurt him a lot this season. Byram on the other hand, who stands a shorter and stouter 6-foot-1 and weighs 205 pounds, uses that entire frame to his advantage to throw necessary hits, block out opposing players from his net, and to power through the ice to make things happen offensively. He does not often find himself out of position and is experienced enough to know how to balance his strengths with his defensive partner’s. It is that hockey IQ that makes him currently the better player.

Byram’s Future With the Sabres

Keeping Byram is the logical choice, and signing him to a long-term deal makes the most sense especially if they trade Power instead and clear his cap hit. Byram would make a fantastic permanent fixture on their blue line with Dahlin for the foreseeable future, and it would allow Adams, or (hopefully) whoever else ends up being the Sabres GM to really focus in on rounding out the bottom two pairs with Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Clifton at the current core of it. Byram brings the right balance of offense and defense and deserves to have a long-term contract in place that pays him a similar salary to Power’s.

It may come as a hot take to prefer keeping Byram over Power in any sort of deal, but two very important realities need to be remembered here: The first is that Byram is the better player right now and the age gap is not large enough between him and Power that it makes a big difference in time lost between them. The second is that Power likely holds more trade value as the younger player with more potential, so making a deal involving him would provide the Sabres with a higher return to make them better in a shorter time. If their goal really is to turn this ship around soon, they cannot be afraid to take a swing with a big trade. If they do, they should trade Power, not Byram.