The Buffalo Sabres may have extended Bowen Byram this month right after he filed for arbitration, but the defenseman's future with the franchise remains far from locked in.
Byram signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract after going to arbitration with the team. The deal ensures he stays in Buffalo through 2026 but also leaves the door open for a not-so-distant departure.
The reason for that is that once his new deal is over, Byram will become an unrestricted free agent, thus having the rights to enter the open market, leaving the Sabres with Buffalo getting nothing in return.
That's why, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the young defenseman could still be on the move. Kypreos, however, acknowledged that it's not going to be easy to find a team truly interested in trading for him.
“The Sabres could still end up trading him,” Kypreos said. “But that’s unlikely for the time being since a team won’t pay a hefty price for Byram, given he can walk to unrestricted free agency.”
Kypreos noted that other teams may prefer to wait for Byram to get closer to reaching free agency, as Buffalo’s leverage in any potential trade discussions will be lower at that point.
The decision to re-sign their young defenseman to a short-term deal, in Kypreo's eyes, could come back to haunt the Sabres, who may have missed a window to maximize value by moving his negotiating rights earlier in the summer.
Despite the speculation about a potential trade shipping him out of Buffalo, Byram sounded happy with the outcome of his contract negotiations with the Sabres.
“I’m happy it’s done and out of the way, now,” Byram said. “I can focus on getting prepared for the season and getting back with the guys and getting on the ice.”
Byram just completed his sixth NHL season, has appeared in 246 regular-season games (split between Colorado and Buffalo), scoring 63 points, and already won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 before a trade sent him to the Sabres in March 2024.
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