Bowen Byram

Draft Day Musings After a Busy Week

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The 2026 NHL Draft kicks off this evening and round one will cap a whirlwind week across the league. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a flurry of moves of this magnitude and it’s been highly entertaining to track. Over the last seven days Bowen Byram, William Eklund, Jordan Kyrou, Simon Nemec, Valeri Nichushkin and Brady Tkachuk have changed teams and eight first round draft picks have changed hands. 

The rumor mill has been running at full tilt all week and has shown no signs of slowing down. If things fall the right way, we may even be treated to a few big moves during Friday’s first round. With GMs putting the pedal to the floor on offseason moves, I wanted to offer up a collection of thoughts related to this past week’s action and what is on the horizon for the Sabres and around the league. 

The Robertson Saga

Elliotte Friedman reported on Thursday that Jason Robertson had turned down a sign-and-trade offer that would have rewarded him with an eight-year, $15 million contract with Seattle. Later reports suggested that he had also vetoed an extension with the St. Louis Blues. His rejection of the Kraken was a shocking development considering the massive cap outlay they were willing to commit to and now his future is firmly centered around an apparently shrinking list of suitable destinations and the potential for an offer sheet. 

Robertson is one of the few players who is worth, without question, Buffalo’s newly inherited fourth overall pick. That isn’t to say there are others who would be acceptable additions should that pick be traded, but Robertson is the sort of game changing talent who is worth spending a top five pick to acquire. Logic would dictate that Buffalo may not be in the running for him. If Seattle, a no-tax state for the time being, isn’t an attractive enough destination, it would seem likely that he is aiming for a small list of teams that are firm Stanley Cup contenders, in addition to whatever other regional benefits exist. I would be over the moon if the Sabres managed to acquire him with an extension in place. Robertson would immediately level up the quality of their forward group in a meaningful way. I’m sure his list consists of the usual suspects, but his contract asking price could complicate the process for himself and the Stars. It will be far and away the most interesting story to track in the coming days. 

Continue reading →

Sabres Make a Big Splash With Byram Deal

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The Sabres are on the board. 

It’s been a hectic week of trades in the NHL, with the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster setting off an impressive run of business just days ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft. Jarmo Kekäläinen got in on the fun, landing a hefty package from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway. 

In addition to defenseman Louis Crevier, the Sabres received the fourth overall and 45th overall picks in this week’s draft, bringing their current pick allotment to six selections. This was the second trade of note involving a Sabres defenseman, after Michael Kesselring was packaged with the 27th pick to slide up to pick 20 in Friday’s first round. 

The deals create a great deal of flexibility for Kekäläinen, who not only holds a pair of first round picks he can dangle in trade talks, but an additional $10 million in cap space he previously lacked. The return on Byram is impressive. Fourth overall is a premium asset few teams find themselves possessing unless they’ve endured a miserable season. The pick, should the Sabres keep it, puts them in the position to add a high-end prospect who can instantly shift the strength of their prospect pool and long-term outlook. 

Continue reading →

Two in the Mailbox: Tuch, Byram and Would You Take a New Owner?

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The mailbag is back for the dog days of summer. This version runs down a host of topics ranging from an arena update to the sustainability of the roster. As this is a longer one, I’ll spare you any sort of protracted introduction and get right to the questions.

Continue reading →

Double Minors: Draft Day Musings

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Bowen Byram may have been the favorite to be the first player moved by Kevyn Adams but the defender is still a Sabre as we creep up on the first round of the NHL Draft. 

The available information still suggests that Byram will be moved, even with Elliotte Friedman’s report on Friday’s 32 Thoughts that the market may have softened. Acquiring Michael Kesselring in the JJ Peterka trade provides a capable partner for Owen Power, something fans and the team have been desperate to see for some time. The way the season ended, with Byram playing mostly third pair minutes while Mattias Samuelsson slotted in next to Rasmus Dahlin, pointed to a divorce between the Sabres and Byram. Especially after his blazing start to the year as Dahlin’s partner. 

Bringing in a (likely) top four defenseman for Peterka creates opportunity for Adams as he shops Byram. I think there was probably some expectation that Byram could be flipped for a right handed defenseman, and that’s probably still on the table if the Sabres feel they need to find someone more reliable (on the ice and in the training room) than Samuelsson to play with Dahlin. However, the current defense corps is structured in a way that I would lean towards expecting to see a forward as the primary return for Byram as opposed to another defenseman.

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 12.29 – Breaking Down the Sabres Deadline

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Kevyn Adams made a big splash ahead of the deadline, acquiring Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. We dig into the deal, discussion what Byram can bring to the table for the Sabres and what this means for the next acquisitions Adams needs to make as he tries to shape the Sabres into a playoff roster. 

We also touch on some of the deals from around the NHL, reviewing the work done by Vegas, Winnipeg, Carolina and Colorado at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline. 

Unlocking Byram’s Full Potential the Key to Swap with Avs

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Kevyn Adams exhibited quite a bit of patience over the last 24-plus months, making scant few trades since sending Jack Eichel to Vegas in November 2021.

That all changed on Wednesday when he acquired Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. A hockey trade in the purest sense, Adams made the acquisition that eluded him in the offseason as he bolsters his blueline with another U25 player with team control.

This trade won’t lack criticism. Mittelstadt had found his game over the last two seasons and he’d been one of Buffalo’s most consistent and effective forwards this season. He was delivering on his draft pedigree and provided the Sabres with three reliable centermen on a nightly basis. Mittelstadt’s next contract was going to be a challenge for the Sabres as the potential for the deal to upset their salary structure was a real possibility. Still, his contributions over the last two seasons were terrific. He had evolved into a two-way weapon, adept at winning battles along the wall with the impressive playmaking attributes that made him a high draft pick.

At 25, with team control, Mittelstadt was also a prime trade candidate, especially considering the extensions the Sabres had given to Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens. Extending him wasn’t out of the question, but he offered Adams a trade chip few other GMs had at their disposal.

Continue reading →

Adams Adds Another Deadline Surprise

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

My how things can change in an instant. 

Most of the reporting surrounding Kevyn Adams and this year’s trade deadline was low key. The Sabres were expected to send out their pending unrestricted free agents, but it seemed any significant work would have to wait until the summer. 

Then Wednesday afternoon, Adams swapped Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram and dropping the biggest bomb of the 2024 deadline season. 

Much of this post had been written at that point, with a hope that Adams would be able to pull off a big deal by Friday. The combination of cap troubles around the league and difficult fits seemed like that might be a longshot. even if the hope of a deadline surprise always lurks. Any deal Adams would have made outside of selling Zemgus Girgensons, Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo would’ve been a surprise addition in some way. Though I’m not sure anyone was truly prepared for the magnitude of the trade he made with the Avalanche.  

Continue reading →