Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram has frequently appeared in trade rumors in recent weeks.
The speculation increased last week after the Sabres shipped winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth, prompting some observers to suggest that he'd become a trade chip to acquire a replacement for Peterka among their top-six forwards.
The 24-year-old Byram became a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1. He earned an average annual value of $3.85 million on his previous contract. With the UFA market picked clean of quality defensemen, some enterprising teams seeking a puck-moving blueliner could tempt him with an offer sheet.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that the Sabres had trade conversations with several teams, including the Calgary Flames, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. He also raised the possibility of an offer sheet.
Dreger's colleague Chris Johnston suggested the sweet spot could be around the compensation range tier of $7,020,113. “If a deal comes in under that, the compensation would be a first and a third-round pick in 2026.”. He indicated that the danger for the Sabres in matching that offer is that it would take Byram straight to UFA status while losing the ability to trade him.
Another defenseman continuing to garner attention in the trade market is Rasmus Andersson. The 28-year-old Calgary Flames blueliner is a year away from UFA eligibility with a cap hit of $4.55 million.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported the thinning free-agent market for defensemen could rekindle trade interest in Andersson. He claimed the Golden Knights, Kings, Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets could be among the suitors.
LeBrun indicated those teams would prefer if Andersson signed an extension with them, but the only team he was interested in doing that for is the Golden Knights. However, TSN subsequently reported that Flames GM Craig Conroy never gave the Andersson camp permission to discuss an extension with other teams, nor had Andersson honed in on a single club.
Having signed Mitch Marner to an expensive contract, the Golden Knights lack the cap space and necessary assets to acquire Andersson. The Blue Jackets have $19.65 million in cap room, but they're likely out after re-signing Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro to long-term deals.
The Kings could also be out following their signings of Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci on Tuesday. As for the Senators, they're reportedly on his no-trade list.
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