Bowen Byram didn’t leave Buffalo quietly, and he isn’t pretending otherwise.
The defenseman explained his decision to move on from the Sabres during an appearance Tuesday on the What Chaos! hockey show, making it clear the chance to chase a bigger role mattered to him.
"I definitely have a lot of confidence in myself, or else I wouldn't have wanted to leave Buffalo. Buffalo's a great place to play.
You know, I have a lot of tight buddies there. We had a great up-and-coming team but I knew that I wanted more and I wanted a challenge for myself.
So yeah, super excited I ended up here [in Chicago]."
That move eventually led to Chicago giving the 25-year-old blueliner a six-year, $75 million extension with a $12.5 million annual average value, a deal that begins next season. The Blackhawks also brought him in with a clear opportunity in mind: a real shot at becoming a No. 1 defenseman.
Byram has already shown what he can do in a Hawks sweater. He scored a hat trick in his preseason debut, a loud first impression with his new Western Conference club. The regular season has been much quieter so far, though, with no points and a minus-three rating through three games.
It’s still early, and Chicago has had a rough opening stretch of its own. Connor Bedard’s shoulder injury has only made that start tougher. Even so, Byram’s adjustment figures to take time, because he’s stepping into a new kind of responsibility.
For most of his career, he’s been the second guy on the depth chart, first behind Cale Makar in Colorado and then Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo. Now the Blackhawks are asking him to handle the top spot more often, and that means more minutes against top competition and more pressure in his own zone.
The offensive upside is obvious. Byram’s skating lets him fly through transition, and he’s coming off a career-best 42 points last season for Buffalo, with 11 goals and 31 assists. The defensive consistency, though, has been less steady over the years, which is why this next step comes with some real growing pains.
His first chance to face the Sabres this season already passed, and he missed that game for a very good reason: his wife, Kailey, gave birth to twin girls that day. That leaves Nov. 12 at the United Center as his lone meeting with Buffalo.
Back in Western New York, the Sabres have been piecing together life without him. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen opened the offseason saying he hoped to sign Byram to an extension, but the club eventually dealt him to Chicago instead.
Buffalo didn’t replace him with one direct answer. It got Louis Crevier in the trade and later used the No. 45 pick in the 2026 draft, another piece from that deal, in a move with the Anaheim Ducks for Olen Zellweger.
Since then, Lindy Ruff has been shuffling the blue line on the fly. Dahlin has spent most of his time with Mattias Samuelsson, just as he did for most of the 2025-26 season, while Owen Power looked effective in that spot when Buffalo was trailing the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. Zellweger has gotten time with Power on the second pair, and Crevier should keep getting chances there, especially in more defense-first situations.
Zach Metsa and Matt Grzelcyk are also in the mix while Conor Timmins works back from a lower-body injury. Ruff isn’t locking into three fixed pairings right now; he’s changing things in game based on the score and situation.
The results have been uneven, with Buffalo allowing 11 goals through three games. But for now, that kind of constant movement is the best option the Sabres have.
And it all feeds back into the offseason debate around the team. Moving Byram and winger Alex Tuch made some sense based on the circumstances, but Buffalo’s lack of major additions to replace them left real questions about whether the roster could actually move forward this season.
In Other News...
Jed Hoyer Just Put Trade Pressure On Key Cubs Youngsters
The Cubs are staring at a roster reset that could arrive sooner than most fans might expect. With a wave of pitchers heading toward free agency in 2027 and more than $100 million in salary set to come off the books, Chicago will have room to rework the roster in a serious way, whether that means chasing outside help or using its financial flexibility to make bigger swings in the trade market.
For the young players trying to establish themselves now, that future matters. Matt Shaw, Pedro Ramirez, Kevin Alcantara and Jordan Wicks all sit in the conversation as possible trade pieces as the Cubs look ahead to reshaping the team, which puts a different kind of pressure on their development and staying power. In a market like this, the organizations next moves may depend as much on which prospects prove indispensable as on who becomes available elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Still Have One Edward Cabrera Decision Hanging Over This Offseason
The Cubs have been busy filling out their organizational depth with a wave of international free-agent minor-league signings, another reminder that this front office is already looking well beyond the headline moves of the winter. There is also plenty to like on the big-league side, with Pete Crow-Armstrong earning Baseball Americas Player of the Year honors after a season in which he led MLB in home runs, runs and OPS.
Still, one pitching question hangs over the offseason picture: Edward Cabrera. Chicago has been studying the right-handers struggles and views blister problems and mechanical issues as part of the explanation, which makes his case more than a simple talent evaluation. For a club trying to sharpen its rotation plans, figuring out what Cabrera is and what he can still become feels like one of the decisions that could shape the rest of the winter. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Face A Tough Fan Favorite Decision In The Outfield
The Cubs could be staring at one of their trickiest offseason calls in the outfield, and it involves two players who matter for very different reasons. Seiya Suzuki turned in a strong season with a 5.1 WAR, 26 home runs and a .270 batting average, giving Chicago the kind of middle-of-the-order production that is hard to replace, while Ian Happ remains one of the more familiar and popular faces on the roster.
Financial reality may end up forcing the issue, because keeping both free-agent outfielders will not be easy. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report sees the Cubs leaning toward a Suzuki reunion over Happ, a sign that the front office may have to make a choice between roster continuity and the kind of offensive impact that Suzuki provided this year. [Read more 🡒]