Bowen Byram: Here’s the team that reportedly offered him $14 million a year

Félix Forget
Bowen Byram: Here’s the team that reportedly offered him $14 million a year
Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

The Chicago Blackhawks pulled off a major move this summer with Bowen Byram. The team acquired him in a trade with the Sabres (in which they gave up the fourth overall pick)… before signing him to a six-year contract.

And that contract will pay him no less than $12.5 million per year, which is… pretty substantial.

That said, it's interesting to note that according to Elliotte Friedman, who discussed this on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, there was one team willing to offer Byram an even higher annual salary. The deal would have been for just four years… but at an annual salary of $14 million.

Reminder: no defenseman will have a cap hit exceeding $11.5 million next year (Byram's contract begins in 2027–28).

And according to Friedman, who says he suspects he knows the identity of the team but isn't certain, the team in question is reportedly the San Jose Sharks. Our colleagues at HabsolumentFan have also picked up on this.

We know that the Sharks clearly wanted to improve their defense this summer. Despite missing out on Byram (it's safe to assume they were open to giving up the ninth overall pick in that trade), they changed course and landed Darnell Nurse ($9.25 million per year) and Jacob Trouba ($8.25 million per year).

Both defensemen—just like the offer they made to Byram—are under contract for the next four years. And that strangely coincides with the year Macklin Celebrini will become a unrestricted free agent.

Getting back to Byram, there are clearly a lot of general managers who believe strongly in him. Seeing the Sharks and the Blackhawks open to making him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL (at least until Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes reset the market) sends a pretty strong message.

At 25, there are still teams that believe he's capable of becoming a No. 1 defenseman—even though he's never really been more than a No. 3 defenseman in the NHL since the start of his career. We'll see if the Blackhawks' gamble pays off now.


In a Nutshell

– Interesting.

– Nice gesture.

– Too bad.

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