Sabres’ impressive haul in Bowen Byram trade gives Jarmo Kekäläinen options for more big moves

Jarmo Kekäläinen came into his first offseason as Buffalo Sabres general manager with a well-earned reputation for being aggressive, and he added to it on Tuesday night, trading Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks for the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the No. 45 pick and 25-year-old defenseman Louis Crevier.

This is a move that dramatically shifts what Buffalo’s offseason could look like as it tries to build on the success of ending a 14-year playoff drought.

When Kekäläinen had his exit meeting with Byram after the Sabres lost in the second round to the Montreal Canadiens, he told the defenseman he wanted to sign him to a long-term deal.

And why wouldn’t he? Byram, 25, had just been a key part of the Sabres’ run to the playoffs, skating on the second pair with Owen Power. He was part of a top four on defense that was among the best in the NHL and put together his most productive season with 11 goals and 42 points. On top of that, Byram was one of the most well-liked players in the dressing room. He came to Buffalo as a Stanley Cup champion and brought the type of energy and on-ice play that was badly needed.

But it takes two to make a long-term commitment. Byram genuinely enjoyed living in Buffalo and grew close with his teammates here. He also loves to win and was finally getting a chance to do that with the Sabres. That was only part of the equation for Byram, though. The No. 4 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Byram has always coveted a chance to be a No. 1 defenseman. He was stuck behind Cale Maker in Colorado and came to Buffalo, where he was stuck behind Rasmus Dahlin and Power.

That’s why Byram was never all in on the idea of signing long-term with the Sabres. Last summer, he switched agents and hired Darren Ferris, who has a long-standing reputation for advising his clients to pursue unrestricted free agency. Byram was heading toward arbitration before signing a two-year extension that would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Despite the Sabres making the playoffs and Kekäläinen expressing interest in signing Byram to a longer contract this summer, it likely would have required more than $10 million per year to get it done. And the question of the role would continue to loom.

So Kekäläinen pivoted to the trade market. Byram was a much more attractive trade asset now than when the Sabres acquired him at the 2024 deadline in a one-for-one swap for Casey Mittelstadt. Byram staying healthy the last two seasons and playing the way he did in the playoffs helped Kekäläinen’s case. With only one season left on his contract and no extension in place, Byram’s trade value was tough to gauge from the outside. But Kekäläinen hit a home run in acquiring the No. 4 pick. The fact that he got out of Greenway’s contract, added the No. 45 pick and got back a playable NHL defenseman in Crevier is an impressive haul.

This is a great first step in what should be a massive summer for the Sabres. As of now, it still looks like Alex Tuch is going to test free agency. But the Sabres now have the cap space to take a run at signing him if Tuch doesn’t like his options on July 1. They also have plenty of cap space to sign Zach Benson to a long-term contract extension before he officially becomes a restricted free agent eligible to sign an offer sheet.

Beyond that, though, Kekäläinen is sitting on a ton of assets to make this team better. The No. 4 pick is a strong piece of currency if the Sabres want to get involved in trade talks for another star. They were involved in discussions with the Blues about Robert Thomas at the deadline. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll get traded, but maybe Kekäläinen takes another swing at that. Maybe he calls the Blue Jackets about Kirill Marchenko, a player he drafted when he was the general manager in Columbus. Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies could be in play. The Jets are also listening to inquiring teams about superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck. There could be a lot of player movement in the coming days, and Kekäläinen has everything he needs to be right at the center of it.

When it comes to premium future assets, the Sabres now have the No. 4 pick and the No. 20 pick in this draft, along with recent first-rounders Radim Mrtka, Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich and Noah Östlund. They also have other roster players who could be attractive trade chips.

Because of all the assets the Sabres have, we shouldn’t assume Kekäläinen is going to flip the No. 4 pick. Rarely does a playoff team get the chance to make a top-five pick in the draft a few months later. And a top-five pick can be the best path to acquiring a franchise-altering talent. There’s a reason a known top-five pick hasn’t been traded in the NHL since 2008.

Wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg are the likely top two picks. Center Caleb Malhotra could be in play for the Vancouver Canucks at No. 3. That would leave the Sabres with their pick of defensemen at No. 4, or they could take Viggo Björck, a Swedish center who has the competitive playing style that Kekäläinen loves.

Kekäläinen is a scout at heart and knows how critical building through the draft is, particularly in a market like Buffalo. The way the team is built, the Sabres have no plans to be picking as high as No. 4 any time soon. If he’s going to be compelled to move that pick, it needs to be for a player who significantly moves the needle in the Sabres’ pursuit of a Stanley Cup next season.

But Kekäläinen has now put the Sabres in a strong position to get better with this trade. Replacing Byram on and off the ice won’t be easy, but the Sabres may have been replacing him next summer if they let him play out his contract. This is what strong asset management looks like. With Dahlin, Power and Mattias Samuelsson all signed long-term, the Sabres’ blue line should still be a strength of the team next season and beyond.

And given what Kekäläinen has to work with in terms of assets, we know the Sabres aren’t done tweaking their roster.