Why the Leafs should pursue Bowen Byram in a potential trade

Buffalo Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram is an archetype that every general manager ought to be searching for. The 24-year-old left shot defenceman is an outstanding skater who can drive offence and he delivered stellar defensive results for a Sabres team that effectively collapsed when Byram and Rasmus Dahlin weren’t on the ice at 5-on-5. Byram is a restricted free agent and the Sabres seemingly don’t to understand the calibre of player they have, as both parties did not reach a contract extension with July 1 looming.

This is where the Toronto Maple Leafs ought to swoop in. Byram is young enough to serve as a bridge between the team’s win-now window and an uncertain future, where fellow restricted free agent Matthew Knies is the lone under-25 pillar to make an impact at the NHL level. It’s been promised as a summer of change and Byram does have a Stanley Cup ring on his hand, stemming from his tenure with the Colorado Avalanche.

Byram is ranked third on Daily Faceoff’s trade targets list. Here’s what our colleague Frank Seravalli wrote about Byram on June 20:

He was eligible for a contract extension 10 months ago, shortly after being acquired from Colorado. Yet it didn’t get done. His agent recently refuted a report that said Byram made a trade request. But there is still so much to unpack on Byram and his game. He turns 24 in a few weeks and just completed his first full, 82-game season after injuries had piled up in previous campaigns. That’s a big step. The Sabres continue to look for a blueliner, so perhaps that comes in conjunction with a separate Byram trade.

Byram recorded seven goals and 38 points, playing in all 82 regular season games for the Sabres, sporting a plus-11 rating. Conventional stats may not paint the full portrait of his stellar season on a Sabres team that wasn’t close to a playoff spot. Byram sported a plus-14 goal differential at 5-on-5, with a 47.88 percent share of the expected goals, a 49.15 percent Corsi, while playing a team leading 1507:07 at 5-on-5 last season via Natural Stat Trick. He can handle top-line volume on an inferior team and when he’s healthy, he certainly carries star potential.

Could the Maple Leafs potentially reach a deal with the Sabres, involving Morgan Rielly? Rielly is the Maple Leafs’ longest-tenured players and while he struggled off the rush, he’d provide veteran leadership and experience to a young Sabres team that has struggled to ascend through the Atlantic Division. In what was considered by many as a down year, Rielly provided seven goals and 41 points in 82 regular season games, then added four goals and seven points in 13 postseason games.

Rielly is under contract through the 2029-30 season at a $7.5 million cap hit, a figure that the Sabres would be able to absorb with ample cap room, and he can be considered a fixed cost for a team still trying to find direction outside of Dahlin, Owen Power and Tage Thompson. There could be a mutually beneficial fit for both teams, and if the Maple Leafs need to add a sweetener, perhaps Luke Haymes and a 2027 third-round pick could be added in as incentives to close the deal.

All options are on the table for the Maple Leafs this summer, with Auston Matthews and William Nylander as the lone untouchable pieces. Byram would be an excellent fit for the Maple Leafs, would join another team that is firmly in playoff contention and desperately seeking a Stanley Cup, and he would be a terrific fit alongside Brandon Carlo on Toronto’s second pair. Perhaps the Sabres would balk at any type of trade package and find a way to get a deal done, but it’s an option the Leafs could consider, in what could be a mutually beneficial deal for both Atlantic clubs.