Tuesday was a huge day for trades around the National Hockey League. The Chicago Blackhawks joined the party in the evening when they acquired defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 4th overall pick, the 45th overall pick, and defenseman Louis Crevier.
The Blackhawks had a chance to draft Byram when they had the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Instead, they opted to go with Colton Dach, who has since been traded away. The Colorado Avalanche selected him one pick later.
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Byram won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022 and was traded to the Sabres during the 2023-24 season. He has developed into a great defenseman over that period of time, which includes a career year in 2025-26.
During that career year, Byram had 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points as a part of a defense core that’s loaded with good players like Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson. Buffalo ended its NHL-record-setting playoff drought in the process.
The biggest stat for Byram, however, was the fact that he played in all 82 games. He battled some injuries early in his career, but that all seems to be in his past.
Now, he will come to the Chicago Blackhawks and be one of their leaders on the blue line. Although he is a fresh 25-year-old, he has a lot of experience in big games under his belt. With most of their defensive players under the age of 24, he is the elder statesman now.
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The Chicago Blackhawks had a lot of options with that fourth overall pick, but there was growing concern that the player(s) they wanted were not going to be available to them. Instead, they sent it to Buffalo in this deal for Byram.
Byram comes in with a $6.25 million cap hit for 2026-27. He will be an unrestricted free agent after that, so the Blackhawks will be in line to give him a massive extension. With him taking on a bigger role, it will be a hard contract to live up to.
Jordan Greenway comes to Chicago as a physical style 4th line forward. He will bring an element to the game that the Blackhawks are lacking.
In addition to that 4th pick, the 45th pick is a high-value pick that originally belonged to the New York Islanders. It’s a steep price to pay for Byram, but that’s the price for making trades these days.
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Louis Crevier, also involved in this deal, is a big 6’8″ defenseman who can consistently pump 100+ mph shots on the net. The Blackhawks did a great job developing him, but Buffalo will receive the fruit of that labor.
There is no denying that this is a risky trade for Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks. There is a lot of stock being put in Bowen Byram with this deal, and that will only increase when he gets that inevitable extension.
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