When the Blackhawks acquired defenseman Bowen Byram from the Sabres before the draft, there was some sticker shock on two fronts. The first was the price paid to acquire him with a package including the fourth-overall pick. The second was the subsequent six-year, $75MM contract extension he signed earlier this month.
While a $12.5MM price tag for Byram’s services is certainly high, it could have been even higher. His agent, Darren Ferris, told the PuckPedia Hockey Show (video link) there was a bigger offer on the table. Trade talks with another team had progressed to a point where Buffalo granted Ferris permission to talk about an extension with the prospective new team; Ferris noted a four-year, $56MM offer ($14MM AAV) was on the table.
Ultimately, he preferred the extra security of the six-year pact in Chicago, a deal that came with full trade protection.
While Ferris obviously wouldn’t say who the offer was from, he noted that Chicago provided his client with a more favorable tax situation.
The 25-year-old is coming off his best season, one that saw him pot 11 goals and 31 assists in 82 games despite not playing a top role. Ferris noted that while Buffalo certainly wanted to keep Byram around, he wanted an opportunity to play a more prominent role which he’ll get to do with the Blackhawks. Given the price of the offer from the unnamed team, it’s fair to infer that he would have had a chance to be a number one defender there as well.
Byram’s extension doesn’t kick in until the 2027-28 season, or his age-26 campaign. Had he accepted the four-year higher offer and been traded there, that would have positioned him to receive his next contract for his age-30 campaign. At that point, a max-term agreement (six years with a new team, seven on a re-signing) still would have been viable, one that presumably would have been even more expensive if Byram lived up to expectations.
Instead, his next deal will come in his age-32 campaign. On the surface, a max-term pact might be a little harder to come by, though obviously, the next seven years in Chicago could change things.
When Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson swung the move to acquire Byram, some suggested that he overpaid on both fronts, trade and contract. But when it comes to the latter side at least, there was another team willing to go even higher, a sign of how quickly the market is moving in a rapidly rising salary cap environment.