The Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Bowen Byram have settled on a new two-year deal worth $12,5 million, carrying a salary cap hit of $6.25 million, avoiding arbitration.
The Sabres acquired Byram from the Colorado Avalanche at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline for Casey Mittelstadt. In his first full season with the Sabres, Byram recorded 38 points (seven goals and 31 assists) with a plus/minus of +10 to go along with 116 blocked shots playing in all 82 games. Not to mention the restricted free agent played in all situations for the Sabres.
Since coming to the Buffalo Sabres, Byram has totalled 47 points (10 goals and 37 assists) with a plus/minus rating of +10 in 100 games with the Sabres. In 246 career regular-season games, he has recorded 110 points (33 goals and 77 assists), winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
There was a lot of chatter about Bowen Byram being traded by the Buffalo Sabres . Though he did not formally request a trade, he was on the third pairing. Not to mention, General Manager Kevyn Adams could not let another disgruntled player leave the Sabres. At some point, he would have to pay his players to stay.
Even with Byram signed to a new two-year deal, he can walk to free agency at the end of the 2026-27 season. So the drama involving Byram and Sabres is just beginning.
If you look at the contract, Byram’s deal is still movable. He was linked to multiple teams this offseason because of his ability to play the right side as a left-shot defenseman. However, he wants more minutes, not only five-on-five but on the power play as well. He was playing second pair minutes when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. So a team like the St. Louis Blues, for example, could use him with Torey Krug’s career over due to injury.
While the short-term battle is over, the long-term battle has been won by the Sabres. Byram can still be traded. The talk of him being traded persists, as his $6.25 million per-season contract is very movable. Teams now know what the price is for the player. So the chatter will continue through the off-season up until the NHL Trade Deadline. And if Bowen Byram remains on the Sabres roster until the end of the 2025-26 season, trade talk will likely ramp up again, as he will be eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2026.
And what if he does not sign an extension with the Sabres at that point? Then the whole sound and dance about not letting a player leave for nothing will begin, thus continuing the trade talk. This is an endless and cruel cycle that Bowen Byram and the Buffalo Sabres are in. However, this new contract merely continues the drama, not ends it, as many think.
So don’t be surprised, even with the waters being calm now in Buffalo, things get rough once again for the Sabres and Byram once the season begins.
