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Former Trade Target Officially Made Available to the Vancouver Canucks in Offseason Trade
Photo credit: NHL.com
A former Vancouver Canucks trade target has reportedly been made available this summer as his club is gauging the market to see if there is any interest in his services.
Towards the end of 2024, the Vancouver Canucks were continuing their search for a top-four defenseman to add to their group, a hole that Patrik Allvin had been desperately trying to fill since the summer.
Allvin ultimately landed Marcus Pettersson in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in late January, but there were a number of other players the club were linked to the club were linked to including Bowen Byram of the Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres reportedly gauging trade market for defenseman Bowen Byram
On Wednesday's edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Buffalo Sabres are gauging the trade market for Bowen Byram, which comes just a week after he changed his agent.
"The Sabres are gauging his market value. Byram needs a contract. He's got two more years until he's an unrestricted free agent, so Buffalo doesn't have to do anything here, with two more years of team control. Whenever a team trades for a player, like Buffalo did a couple years ago, you know they see value in him and they like him. So, you always have to keep that as part of your overall thinking. But there is no doubt that his name is out there." Friedman said."
Byram is set to become a restricted free agent this summer and Friedman went on to mention that the 23-year-old would want a bigger role after being stuck behind Cale Makar in Colorado and now, Rasmus Dahlin with the Buffalo Sabres.
"He's a confident lad, Byram - and I say that in a positive way. I think confidence matters. And I think he would like a bigger role. It's tough in Buffalo, with who's ahead of him and who's around him. So, I think that absolutely is part of the decision-making process here."
Byram, a native of Cranbrook, British Columbia, joined the Buffalo Sabres in March 2024 while this season he may have averaged the highest ice time of his career at 22:42, he certainly isn't taking Rasmus Dahlin's role on the first pairing, which has led to this situation of a potential trade over the summer.
Could the Vancouver Canucks re-enter the mix for Bowen Byram after showing interest back in the fall? It's certainly possible.
However, after spending his career behind Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin, will Byram want to come to Vancouver only be slotted on the second pairing behind Quinn Hughes? Probably not, but given that he grew up in British Columbia, playing for his childhood team would likely be a dream of his, as it would be for any player.
In 82 games this season for the Sabres, Byram set new career highs in assists (31) and points (38) to go along with his seven goals, 46 penalty minutes and was a plus-11.
Source: Sportsnet/Elliotte Friedman
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| POLL | ||
MAI 21 | 1230 ANSWERS Former Trade Target Officially Made Available to the Vancouver Canucks in Offseason Trade Do you think the Vancouver Canucks should pursue a trade for Bowen Byram? | ||
| Yes | 745 | 60.6 % |
| No | 485 | 39.4 % |
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