Byram Trade On The Agenda For Draft Day

The Buffalo Sabres pulled off the first of what is expected to be a series of trades early Thursday morning, swapping restricted free agent winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for defenseman Michael Kesselring and winger Josh Doan, but going into NHL Draft day on Friday, GM Kevyn Adams is focused on fielding offers for RFA defenseman Bowen Byram

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Vegas Golden Knights have interest in Byram, who have questions on the blueline due to the injury status of Alex Pietrangelo and RFA blueliner Nicolas Hague, but the Golden Knights may have to do some cap cutting by trading players if they want to add Byram and be in the bidding war for Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner.  

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Friedman indicated that the market for Byram had been not as brisk as the Sabres would have liked. The 23-year-old is a top pairing caliber defenseman who can rush the puck. That could be because as an RFA, a club trading for Byram would not only have to trade NHL players to acquire him (which is what Buffalo is looking for in return), and would have to sign him to a long-term extension for significant dollars. 

Sabres winger Alex Tuch’s name has been speculated on, but Friedman said that Buffalo is looking to extend the veteran forward when he becomes eligible on July 1. He also mentioned that Buffalo may have inquired about two-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Rust, who reportedly is being shopped by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 33-year-old scored a career-high 31 goals last season for the Pens, does not have any no-trade protection, and is signed for three more years at $5.125 million per season.  

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