The Buffalo Sabres re-signed defenseman Bowen Byram to a two-year extension worth $6.25 million per season.
This contract will expire at the end of the 2026-27 season, when he will be a pending 26-year-old UFA.
Before re-signing, Byram was an RFA who was scheduled for a team-elected salary arbitration. The 24-year-old D-man was also a topic of trade speculation during the off-season, partially because of the Sabres already having Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power on the left side. After trading right winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in June, some analysts speculated they could move Byram for a top-six forward.
Instead, the Sabres and Byram found common ground to maintain a nice defense corps, which also includes newly acquired Michael Kesselring and Mattias Samuelsson.
Byram is coming off his first full season with the Sabres, recording seven goals and a career-high 38 points in 82 games. He was one of nine Sabres players to finish with a positive plus-minus rating with a plus-11, and he averaged 22:42 of ice time.
Byram is coming off another two-year contract at a $3.85-million cap hit, signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2023. He played parts of four seasons with the Avalanche, including in 2021-22 when he was part of their Stanley Cup championship. Colorado traded him to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt close to the 2024 NHL trade deadline.
Byram is now headed into his sixth NHL season. Across his previous five campaigns, he’s made over 250 regular-season and playoff appearances.
In 246 regular-season games, Byram has 33 goals and 110 points, along with 12 assists in 27 playoff contests.
The Sabres now have about $7.39 million in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia. Only defenseman Conor Timmins, who filed for arbitration, and goaltender Devon Levi remain RFAs on Buffalo.
Byram was also the second-highest-scoring RFA defenseman who remained unsigned. New Jersey Devils youngster Luke Hughes' 44 points are the most, while the Seattle Kraken's Ryker Evans now has the second-most, with 25.
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