What Bowen Byram will bring to the Blackhawks – Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

Byram officially coming in officially closes the revolving door of first-line quarterbacks on the power play, as from forward to defense, the Blackhawks tried and tried and found themselves back at square one. With Connor Bedard, a one-time player of Anton Frondell, Tyler Bertuzzi coming off a 30-goal season in front of the net, and Byram as a defender, the starting tandem should be very interesting to watch. Byram likes to shoot the puck from the left post and the left wall, can move the puck well, should be able to initiate an offensive run very quickly, and step up to play more, which will take pressure off the forwards.

Byram, most importantly, enters next season as the best defender on the team. With the Avalanche, he was behind Cale Makar, and with the Sabres, he was behind Rasmus Dahlin; he’s never had a chance to be a true quarterback, and with Chicago, he’ll finally get that chance. With career highs the past two seasons, he’s about to get the biggest role he’s had in his NHL career thus far, and he shouldn’t have too much trouble putting more points on the board than he has in the past.

The problem, however, is that the Blackhawks still lack a strong defender, as Byram is not good in his end. While Wyatt Kaiser and Alex Vlasic are trying to fill that void and are doing a decent job, getting one in free agency to help stabilize the core should be a priority.

Price Impact

General manager (GM) Kyle Davidson may have waited too long to make this trade. He almost waited until his hands were tied and he had to do something in the hawker’s market; prices were sky high, and still are. For someone who said they wanted to splash out, it would be in their best interest to pick up the phone a day or two earlier. The San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers had serious offers for Byram when he pulled the trigger.

It was overpay, and there is no way around it. The fourth overall pick, the 45th overall pick, and the best defenseman on the team last season is a lot. However, if you’re going to draft a fourth-round pick on Friday, why not find someone who can help the team right now and start getting on the road to a future playoff spot? It will be at least two seasons at a time when the 2026 pick comes to the NHL, and then another couple until they start to get off the ice. Ivar Stenberg was undrafted after the San Jose Sharks traded William Eklund to the Ottawa Senators; it seems that most scouts are not very high in this draft with all the options flying around.

This is a wait and see deal on both sides. The Sabers will draft someone and wait for him to develop (or trade a pick), while the Blackhawks take a swing at Byram. Losing Crevier is what really stings in this entire trade, as he led the defensive core in points last season with 25 and was fun to watch, especially with his 6-foot-8, 228-pound frame; we can only hope that Davidson did everything possible to keep him.

Davidson did something GMs never do, though, and that’s trade a top-five draft pick. The last one was done in 2008. In his press conference, Davidson said he paid Byram a lot of money hoping he would be the number one defenseman, and that’s why Byram wanted to come to Chicago: to have a chance to be the top guy on the blue line. And, having that on the shoulders of someone with 300-plus NHL games played is a lot easier than having that on the shoulders of the likes of Artyom Levshunov. This transaction will take a lot of pressure off Levshunov and even Sam Rinzel; that is really important and probably the most overlooked part of all of this.

The good thing about this is that Bedard seems to be on board with this move. After the sale, Byram said Bedard gave him a phone call and told him how much he enjoyed playing with him. As negotiations for his new contract approach, anything that keeps Bedard motivated for the future is a very good thing. However, Bedard still needs a defender.

Either way, this is Davidson’s first big shot at improvement and not demolition. The fans should appreciate that. You have to give to get, and both teams sent valuable pieces. All we can do now is root Byram and see how the trade plays out.