Young Buffalo Sabres defenseman, frustrated with the team’s ongoing struggles, has formally asked for a trade. Paul Hamilton, a senior Sabres beat writer who first reported the news, appeared on Sportsnet 650 and mentioned that, as a 23-year-old restricted free agent, Byram likely won’t have much influence over his destination unless he decides to sign an offer sheet.
“Bowen Byram has to stay here two more years before he really has any say in where he’s going, unless of course, he signs an offer sheet. The way Kevyn Adams rolls is that if a player comes to him and tells him he no longer wants to be a Buffalo Sabre, then Kevyn Adams no longer wants him to be a Buffalo Sabre, he’s very staunch about that. So they had their meeting at the end of the year, and Bo Byram asked to be traded. He (Adams) is gonna get value for it, he’s not going to just throw him away for nothing. He has two years to accomplish it.
“If he doesn’t get an offer he likes, then he could put it off for another year or two because Byram is stuck here for two years. Now I don’t think Byram would have a problem with that if he has to play another year or two in Buffalo, he’s just kind of let them know that it’s gonna be no longer than that and if he has to stay another two years, then fine, he does and then he’s gone.”
Top NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman mentioned on his “32 Thoughts” podcast that the Sabres still have two years of team control over Bowen Byram, so it’s uncertain whether they will make a move in that time.
“The Sabres are gauging his market value. Byram needs a contract. He’s got two more years before being an unrestricted free agent, so Buffalo doesn’t have to do anything here with two more years of team control, and whenever a team trades for a player like Buffalo did a couple of years ago, you know they see value in him and they like him. So you always have to keep that as part of your overall thinking. But there is no doubt that his name is out there.”
He was first acquired by the Sabres in 2024 for Casey Mittelstadt. He had 38 points (7G, 31A) in 82 games this year.
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