Bowen Byram's Fate with the Vancouver Canucks Has Officially Been Decided

For the last month, the Vancouver Canucks have been connected to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, who was reportedly open to heading to his home province of British Columbia for the next chapter of his National Hockey League career.

Byram, a native of Cranbrook, British Columbia, became a restricted free agent on July 1st and while he decided not to elect salary arbitration earlier this month, the Buffalo Sabres said they wanted to, which officially closed any chance of us seeing a potential offer sheet at some point this summer.

Less than two weeks after the Buffalo Sabres made their decision, it appears that the two sides will avoid heading to an arbitration hearing later this month and are getting close to completing a new contract with Byram, according to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali.

Details regarding Bowen Byram's new contract are now known and this is a big piece of business for the Buffalo Sabres, locking up a young, top-four defenseman, who they hope will help them eventually break their playoff drought, which currently stands at 14 seasons.

As for the Vancouver Canucks, while it would've been a nice story to bring the 24-year-old to his home province and have him play a significant role, the cost to acquire him would've been a lot, there's no question about that, and it's unclear if Patrik Allvin would have the pieces to get a deal done with the Sabres.

Aside from the potential cost, there also wasn't really a spot for him here in Vancouver, especially when considering that along with Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers being in their top-four already, the Canucks have a number of young guns that are looking to push for a roster spot this fall, including Elias Pettersson, Victor Mancini and Tom Willander.

In 82 games this season with the Sabres, Byram registered 38 points (seven goals, 31 assists), 46 penalty minutes and was a plus-11.

More to come.