Is this Sabres star defenseman on his way out of Buffalo?

YardBarker revealed yesterday that the Sabres may not have defenseman Bowen Byram much longer. He not only packed up and left Buffalo, but he also hired a new agent for this offseason.

During his end-of-season press conference, Byram implied that he enjoyed his time with the Sabres and was looking forward to more.

“I've been lucky enough to come in and get a really good opportunity and play important minutes and meaningful minutes, and I've enjoyed that,” Byram said. “ I've taken some strides in my gam, and I'll continue to try to improve and am determined to be the best version of myself as possible.”

I didn’t think there would be a world in which the Sabres trade Byram, especially after just acquiring him in the 23-24 season from the Colorado Avalanche. However, it seems more likely now than it has been before. Byram has been talking about an extension before the end of the season, but neither side has met for a meeting to discuss this.

Instead, Kevyn Adams re-signed the likes of Jacob Bryson, Jordan Greenway, and Jason Zucker. With Bowen Byram being a cap hit of 4.65 million dollars this year, and having the best year of his career. I could see him asking for around 6.5 to 7 million per year, and d long-term contract of seven years.

Which is why I think he went out and hired a new agent. If the Sabres are unable to make a deal with Byram, I could see other teams giving an offer sheet to Byram and forcing the Sabres to match. With the Sabres' lack of cap space and having to re-sign multiple players, such as JJ Peterka and Ryan McLeod, Byram will want as much money as possible from teams on the market.

I think he believes that the Sabres won’t be able to give him what he wants, which is why a trade would take place. I had said in a previous article last month that Byram could have possibly played his last game with the team because of these reasons, cap space being the most important one, and Kevyn Adams's lack of leadership as a GM.

Although Byram seemed adamant on staying in Buffalo, I just can’t see either side working out a deal if it is over six million per year. The Sabres may be better off trading Byram for some NHL players in return, almost like a swap. The Sabres can get a nice return for Byram, and it won’t slow down their offseason plans moving forward.