Bowen Byram arrived in Chicago as one of the Blackhawks’ biggest offseason swings, the kind of move that signaled the front office was ready to pay now for a defenseman it believes can change the team’s future.
The price was steep. The Blackhawks landed Byram from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, defenseman Louis Crevier and a second-round pick in that same draft. Chicago also locked the Cranbrook, BC native into a six-year extension that keeps him with the club through 2033.
That kind of commitment comes with expectations, and so far the start has been rocky. Through four games, the 25-year-old has no points and sits at minus-6 while logging 24:29 of ice time per night.
The problems haven’t stopped with Byram, either. Chicago has given up 21 goals in four games, a 4.20 goals-against-per-game average that ranks third-worst in the NHL. Last season, the Blackhawks were around 3.29 goals against per game, so unless the group tightens up, the defensive issues are likely to keep dragging them down.
Byram has been out there for a lot of those breakdowns. His even-strength numbers are especially rough: a minus-6 on-ice goal differential, with seven goals against and only one goal for.
Saturday gives him a shot to flip the script.
Chicago faces the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that has given the Blackhawks plenty of trouble over the years. Byram’s own history against Carolina has been uneven as well. In nine career games against the Hurricanes, he has been minus-2 or worse three times and plus-1 or better four times.
For the Blackhawks, that makes Byram’s night a major swing factor. If he can find his game, and maybe his first points of the season, Chicago has a better chance of hanging around in a matchup many around the league have already penciled in for Carolina.
The Hurricanes have had the upper hand for a long time. They own a 50-35-7-5 all-time record against the Blackhawks, and that edge has sharpened recently, with Carolina going 19-2-2 in the last 23 meetings.
If Byram is going to help push Chicago toward the more competitive hockey it wants to play, this is the kind of stage where it has to start showing up.
In Other News...
Artyom Levshunov Is Showing Why The Blackhawks Keep Betting Bigger
Artyom Levshunov has given the Blackhawks a real reason to keep leaning into his upside early in the 2026-27 season. The young defenseman has been used heavily in the offensive zone, where his skating and ability to keep plays alive have helped Chicago spend more time going the right way. Paired with Bowen Byram, he has helped drive a strong expected goal share, and his work retrieving pucks in the defensive end has looked cleaner than it did a year ago.
There is still a little roughness in the middle of all that promise, which is part of the point with Levshunov. His passing remains closer to average than dynamic, so the play-driving package is not yet fully polished, but the Blackhawks are clearly comfortable letting the game come to him. For a team that has been willing to bet bigger on young talent, his start is another reminder that the long view is starting to show up in the details. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Open Homestand Facing A Forward Test They Didnt Need
The homestand starts under less-than-ideal circumstances for the Blackhawks, who welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to the United Center while trying to sort through a depleted forward group. Chicago is already dealing with injuries to Connor Bedard and Andrew Mangiapane, and the absence of center Frank Nazar only adds to the pressure as the team looks to settle in for seven straight at home.
Lineup changes were inevitable, and the Blackhawks have turned to Nick Lardis in a bigger role as they try to keep the offense moving. For a club that was hoping the homestand would provide some stability, the opening game instead becomes a test of how much flexibility the roster really has when the lineup starts to thin out. [Read more 🡒]
Ed Olczyk Is Back In The Blackhawks Fold Again
Ed Olczyk is back in the Blackhawks orbit in a familiar and fitting role, with the team naming the Chicago native and former player a team ambassador. The move brings another recognizable face into a franchise that has spent plenty of time reconnecting with its past, and Olczyk is expected to help bridge that history with what the organization is trying to build now through appearances and team events.
There is also a television element to the reunion, since Olczyk is returning as an analyst for select CHSN games. For Blackhawks fans, it adds another voice who knows the market, the crest and the expectations that come with it, and his first assignment in that role is set to include a meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes. [Read more 🡒]