Overview
- TSN insider Darren Dreger reported Thursday that multiple NHL clubs have contacted the Buffalo Sabres about Bowen Byram and that the Sabres are exploring offers for the defenseman.
- Byram is one year away from unrestricted free agency and is eligible for an extension on July 1, a timing detail teams are using to set trade value and negotiating strategy.
- The 25-year-old posted career highs with 11 goals and 42 points in 2025–26 and added three goals and seven points in 13 playoff games, boosting his appeal to contenders.
- Trading Byram would free roughly $6.25 million to $6.5 million in cap space for Buffalo, which currently projects about $12 million available and needs room for new deals for Alex Tuch and Zach Benson.
- The situation is shaped by Byram’s agent Darren Ferris, who has a track record of steering clients to free agency, and by Byram’s March 2024 trade from Colorado for Casey Mittelstadt, which makes a summer trade a practical option for Buffalo to gain assets instead of risking a 2027 UFA departure.