The St. Louis Blues transformed their blue line over the last 12 months with the additions of Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler. Could they look to add another change-of-scenery defenseman to the blue line?
23-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram is on his second team in three years, and he may soon be switching teams again, at least recording to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Friedman speculated about Byram's future in Buffalo on the most recent episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
"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," Friedman said. "So you always have to keep that as part of your overall thinking. But there is no doubt that his name is out there."
Friedman also noted that Byram recently changed agents and that always creates conversation.
The Sabres traded Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado for Byram back at the 2023 trade deadline. Byram was drafted fourth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by Colorado, so he has the high-end ability. Unfortunately, that just hasn't come to fruition at the NHL level yet.
Whenever a former top pick becomes available, especially one that's still as young as Byram, you have to wonder where he could land. Any team could use a player with Byram's potential, but the fit has to be right.
For the Blues, they already have five NHL defenseman signed to at least a $4 million cap hit for next season. Now, Nick Leddy and Cam Fowler are both free agents next summer, so there may be some wiggle room, but at least Fowler wants to extend in St. Louis. The Blues also hve Kyle Tucker and Matthew Kessel as depth defenseman options.
CapWages projects a five-year deal with a cap hit just over $7 million for Byram, but it is possible he opts for a short-term pact.
So given all of that, could the Blues land Byram? It'd be complicated, and the return would have to make sense for both sides, but it seems unlikely at this juncture.