Looking at Bowen Byram and the Penguins’ need for defense

If the Penguins want to get better this offseason, upgrading their blueline is a big, huge, obvious choice. GM Kyle Dubas admitted as much last month at his end-of-season press conference:

Dubas said the blue line is a major area of focus throughout the organization. When asked, he specifically mentioned the left side, which has been a problem. Especially after moving Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver.

The Penguins currently have Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea and Vladislav Kolyachonok on the roster, who have all gotten some level of opportunity to establish themselves. Dubas wants them to keep taking steps. “That said, you can’t just wish that all of them are going to improve and all move up into 1-2-3, the left side of the defense,” Dubas said. “So, that’s an area I think, externally, that we have to (improve). So, we’ll be on the lookout for that as we go through here.”

The left side of the defense is not a pretty picture in Pittsburgh. In recent years they’ve parted ways for one reason or another with Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson and Marcus Pettersson from the left side and having nothing currently to show for replacements besides a free agent bust (Graves) and some fringe NHL caliber players. Those absences were felt heavily for a team that struggled big time to provide Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson with suitable partners.

Wouldn’t you know, a 23-year old left side defenseman who skated almost 23 minutes and put up 38 points last year finds him potentially on the trade block out of Buffalo, per talk from league insider Elliotte Friedman.

On the surface, this is an easy connection. The Penguins desperately need help here. Byram is young enough that he could be a core piece for a while to go. In a way, the situation is somewhat parallel to a couple years ago when rumors abounded that Mike Sullivan was interested in seeing the Pens to trade for Jakob Chychrun. In hindsight (and maybe even not requiring hindsight), that would have been a great add for Pittsburgh but the stars never aligned on this one.

Is Byram potentially the next Chychrun? While it can’t be outright dismissed, it’s not a 1:1 comparison either.

Chychrun can shoot the puck as well as just about any defenseman this side of Cale Makar, he scored 20 goals with Washington this year. Byram’s been no slouch in the finishing department, though his time in Buffalo has absolutely cratered his play. Just based on track record, acquiring a 25-year old Chychrun in 2023 was a lot more of a sure thing than going after Byram now based on the EV impacts on defense and offense from both profiles.

The thing about Byram is that he’s not a natural type of partner for a Karlsson or Letang. Byram (like Chychrun, who rarely played this season with John Carlson on the Capitals) is more the focal point defenseman to add a steady, capable partner to play along side.

Another factor working against the Pens is the very public notice that’s been given that the Sabres will be shopping their player. It’s no secret and there will be no shortage of offers — an all-around doomsday scenario might be the Rangers if they decided to offer the 12th overall pick for him this year in hopes of strengthening their team in 2025-26 (and thereby weakening the 2026 draft pick they would then transfer to Pittsburgh, in theory anyways). The cost to acquire a top-four defender who was once a fourth overall pick and has a big name value won’t be an easy one to navigate when literally everyone around the league is more than clued in on the fact that such a player is up for a possible transaction.

Timing, as always, will be a key. Is this the year the Penguins kick their plan into overdrive? Dubas mentions the word “urgent” a lot when he speaks but his actions have yet to match such ambition. Sooner or later that figures to change, but without a defined timeline on just how quickly he’s looking to move into acquiring big time pieces remains in question.

Overall, as rote and easy as it is to say, of course the Penguins should be interested in at least exploring what it might take to make an upgrade at this important position when the opportunity to acquire a player like Bowen Byram arises. Whether or not that gains any traction is a whole different story with an unlikelier outcome.