Blackhawks, Bowen Byram agree to 6-year contract extension

When Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson recently acquired defenseman Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres with a hefty trade package, Davidson knew it was the first of two large prices he would have to pay for his future No. 1 defenseman.

There was what the Sabres wanted for Byram, and there was what Byram sought in a new contract. He was entering the final year of his contract before he could become an unrestricted free agent, and the trade made sense to the Blackhawks only if they could retain the 25-year-old Byram for many more seasons beyond the 2026-27 one.

On Wednesday, the first day Byram was eligible to sign an extension, the Blackhawks agreed to extend Byram for six more years with an average annual value of $12.5 million, the team announced. For the time being, the contract makes Byram the highest-paid defenseman in the league, surpassing Erik Karlsson’s $11.5 million annual cap hit.

When he acquired Byram, Davidson explained it would probably cost a substantial price to re-sign him.

“It’s definitely a different dynamic than you would experience if there’s a player in your midst, and Bowen’s age, his expiration status being a UFA next summer at 26, is incredibly rare, incredibly valuable to a player, especially in this burgeoning upper limit salary cap market,” Davidson said June 24. “We can’t be ignorant to that. It’s something that we’ll have to be respectful of and also put our money where our mouth is, literally and figuratively, because we believe in this guy.

“We’re OK paying great players. And if there’s an opportunity to acquire and retain a player that we believe is elite and a star, then we will do so, and we won’t blink in doing it.”

With the trade and contract, the Blackhawks are banking on Byram to become a No. 1 defenseman. He was the first defenseman drafted in 2019, the No. 4 pick by the Colorado Avalanche, with a projection to be a No. 1 defenseman. He played a supporting role with the Avalanche during his first few NHL seasons and was traded to the Sabres in the 2023-24 season. In Buffalo, he was given more opportunity and ice time and produced more, but he still played behind Rasmus Dahlin, who finished third in Norris Trophy voting this season.

Chicago is Byram’s first chance to be a team’s No. 1 defenseman. The Blackhawks plan for him to play massive minutes, run their power play and help their young defensemen take the next step. Davidson expressed confidence that Byram is up for that challenge.

“He’s going to be provided an opportunity to again, grow his profile, grow into his game but provide an elite play-driving influence into our lineup,” Davidson said. “He’s already one of the top five-on-five play drivers in the league, and that’s before he even gets on the first power-play unit. So, we’re going to be able to provide that to him.

“We’re going to provide the opportunity to become one of the top defensemen around the league, and we feel 100 percent wholeheartedly that he can be that guy and he will be that guy. So, when you take it like that, a top-pair defenseman and we feel a potential No. 1 defenseman, there aren’t many pieces around the league that are more valuable than that.”

Byram was just as excited about joining the Blackhawks after the trade. His father played briefly for Chicago, and Byram always felt a connection to the organization. He hoped he and the Blackhawks could land on a long-term contract extension, too.

“Chicago is a place I’ve wanted to be for a long time,” Byram said on June 24. “I plan on being in Chicago for a long time. I’m hoping when the time comes, we can figure something out, for sure.”

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