There has been some movement on the Bowen Byram front. After the restricted free agent did not file for player-elected arbitration on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres had a chance to file for team-elected arbitration on Sunday. And they did just that.
The St. Louis Blues have been linked to Byram in recent weeks, and this honestly doesn't change a whole lot for them.
The one thing that the Blues couldn't use as leverage is signing Byram to an offer sheet. However, the Sabres have made it pretty clear that they would match any offer sheet that the defenseman signed. Even if the Blues used all of their $8.1 million on Byram, the Sabres have more than enough to match it with $12.8 million in cap space.
That's really all that filing for arbitration does. The Sabres can still negotiate a long-term extension with Byram or trade him if they so choose up until the arbitration hearing.
If the hearing does take place, Byram will be able to select either a one-year or two-year deal, with the latter option walking him up right into free agency. That'd likely be the choice for Byram, who has already been traded once in his young career.