The Buffalo Sabres have traded defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for the No. 4 and 45 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and defenseman Louis Crevier.

What it means for the Sabres

Byram, 25, has one year left on his contract that pays $6.25 million per year. After that, he will be an unrestricted free agent. Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen had expressed interest in signing Byram long-term, but Byram has been interested in a bigger role than the Sabres are able to offer. Last summer, he balked at the chance to sign a long-term contract and hired agent Darren Ferris, who has an established reputation for advising his clients to pursue unrestricted free agency.

With uncertainty around whether Byram would commit to signing a longer deal, Kekäläinen decided to get what he could for Byram while his value was still high. It helped that Byram is coming off one of his best seasons in the NHL. He had career highs with 11 goals and 42 points and added seven points in 13 playoff games. Byram spent most of the year playing alongside Owen Power on the Sabres’ second pair while Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson played as Buffalo’s top pair. Byram also got some time with the Sabres’ second power-play unit. The fact that the Sabres have already signed Dahlin, Power and Samuelsson to long-term contracts made moving Byram a bit easier.

Now the Sabres have to figure out how to replace Byram. They already traded right-handed defenseman Michael Kesselring to the Sharks to move up from No. 27 to No. 20 in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. They have some promising prospects on the blue line but none that are ready to jump to the NHL. They have Zach Metsa, Conor Timmins and Ryan Johnson on one-way contracts next season, but all three profile more as third-pair options.

Acquiring the No. 4 pick is a great haul for the Sabres and creates some intrigue at the top of the draft for the hosts. After making the playoffs, the Sabres are entering a window of contention, so that pick could be in play as part of another deal. There is still a lot for the Sabres to sort out this offseason. Alex Tuch is unsigned, and it looks likely that he will at least test unrestricted free agency on July 1. If the Sabres are trying to replace Tuch and Byram, the No. 4 pick is a significant piece of trade currency. Kekäläinen now has enough assets to be in the mix for just about any trade.

If Kekäläinen decides to make the pick, the Sabres will be in an interesting spot. Forwards Gavin McKenna, Caleb Malhotra and Ivar Stenberg look like the top three players in the draft. After that, center Viggo Björck is the next best forward. And there’s also a tier of high-end defenseman led by right-handed Chase Reid. Buffalo would have plenty of options.

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Getting rid of Jordan Greenway and his $4 million salary is a bonus for the Sabres. Greenway has been a solid fourth-liner and decent penalty killer for Buffalo when healthy. But injuries have been an issue. He had multiple hernia surgeries over the last two seasons and finally looked healthy at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. But with the Sabres in a salary cap crunch, moving off the final season of his deal gives them more flexibility heading into the offseason.

What it means for the Blackhawks

The Blackhawks have accumulated several young defensemen, as their rebuild largely started there under general manager Kyle Davidson, but it was apparent they could use some veteran stability after seeing six young defensemen play together at the end of last season. They were hoping to land someone exactly like Byram, a left-handed, puck-moving defenseman to complement what they have on their right side. Byram will go with fellow left-handed shots Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Kevin Korchinski, with Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel after losing Crevier.

Byram could also fill a need atop the Blackhawks’ power play. Levshunov and Rinzel both had opportunities with the Blackhawks’ top unit last season and neither stuck. Eventually, the Blackhawks turned to Connor Bedard to quarterback the power play. Byram could fill that role at least until the Blackhawks’ younger defense further develops.

The Blackhawks were hoping to acquire the No. 2 pick from the San Jose Sharks to draft winger Ivar Stenberg, but that appeared to be an unlikely scenario after the Sharks acquired the ninth-overall pick on Tuesday. Because of that and the Vancouver Canucks likely to draft Caleb Malhotra with the third selection, the Blackhawks were facing a scenario where the best available player on their board would have been a defenseman.

Crevier had a breakout season for the Blackhawks. He began the season as the seventh defenseman because the Blackhawks didn’t want to expose him to waivers. He ended the year as one of the team’s more reliable defensemen and often played in a top-four role.