Similarly to Minnesota Wild centre Marco Rossi, another potential Philadelphia Flyers trade target has been placed on the chopping block this offseason in Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram.
When the Flyers were shopping Claude Giroux back in 2021-22, there were reports that they were looking at acquiring Byram when he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado was one of the main teams targeting Giroux before he decided he only had his eyes set for the Florida Panthers and eventually landed the Flyers with Owen Tippett.
Byram was moved to Buffalo ahead of the trade deadline in 2024 when the Avalanche felt they had a surplus in defensemen after acquiring Sean Walker from the Flyers. They moved off of their former first round pick for Casey Mittelstadt, who they then moved to Boston this past year.
2022 wasn’t the only instance in which the Flyers tried to acquire Byram as they were came back to Colorado when they were quietly shopping Cutter Gauthier. Surprisingly enough, the Avalanche reportedly rejected the Flyers’ advances again and decided to prioritize their search for a more seasoned player, which turned out to be Mittelstadt.
It hasn’t been the start to his career that he was expecting after being selected with the 4th overall pick back in 2019. Byram scored 71 points in 67 games in 2018-19 for the Vancouver Giants during his draft year and then added another 52 points in 50 games the following season before COVID-19 shut things down.
He made his NHL debut in 2020-21 with 19 appearances and notching just 2 assists but shined in 2021-22 when he scored 17 points in 30 games and then added another 9 assists in 20 post-season contests en route to a Stanley Cup championship.
It was a solid start to his career and things looked promising in 2022-23 when he scored 10 goals and 24 points in just 42 games but he missed a large chunk of the season due to an injury. He did however make it back in time for the postseason before the Avalanche were ousted in 7 games.
After signing a 2-year deal as an RFA with the Avalanche he was eventually moved later that season after a quiet 20 points in 55 games to start the 2023-24 season. He looked a little bit lost when the Avalanche had him playing his off-side with Samuel Girard and that eventually led to the team trading him to Buffalo, where he looked a little more comfortable.
He played in all 82 games this past season and notched 7 goals and 38 points and was surprisingly a +11 despite their struggles. He managed a career high in ATOI at 22:42 as well as career-highs in shots (94) and blocked shots (116).
In totality, the 5-year veteran has 33 goals and 110 points in 246 games with 20:59 ATOI, 313 blocked shots and 337 hits. Over his time with both Colorado and Buffalo, Byram has featured on the power play from time to time but wasn’t necessarily a regular with better options in front of him like Girard, Cale Makar, and Rasmus Dahlin.
However this past season he set a career-high with 148.7 minutes played while shorthanded so he does have experience with both special teams units, which would assuredly interest the Flyers.
The Flyers have NHL regulars like Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nick Seeler under contract for next season and Cam York is an RFA. Emil Andrae and Egor Zamula should push for roster spots as they featured in a lot games but the Flyers could look to shore up their back-end once again, especially if Ristolainen’s injury eats up a chunk of the season.
The Sabres are looking for change after failing to qualify for the postseason for the 14th consecutive year. The last time they were in the playoffs was all the way back in 2011 when they were narrowly defeated by the Flyers in the first round.
Entering the off-season, the Sabres have around $21.43 million dollars to work with in open cap space but have Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, and Jacob Bernard-Docker as pending RFAs alongside Byram.
Buffalo has already committed long-term to Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson while also having Connor Clifton and Jacob Bryson under contract through 2025-26, leaving Byram’s future a little bit in limbo moving forward.
They’re not necessarily in any rush to move him either but for the right deal, they’re more than willing to pull the trigger. Prying him out of Buffalo won’t be an easy feat but the Flyers have plenty of draft picks if that interests them enough to sweeten the pot.
The Cranbrook, British Columbia native stands in at 6’1” and 205 pounds, is a left-handed shots and is still only 23-years-old but has a long way to go in improving his two-way game. Once separated from Dahlin, his numbers shifted, but on the Flyers he won’t be asked to carry too much of the load with Sanheim, York, and even Drysdale playing big minutes.
However, one does have to wonder where the Flyers and York currently stand after the season he just had in 2024-25. His spat with John Tortorella was breaking news near the end of the season and even though the latter was let go, it remains to be seen where both parties currently sit.
Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco has speculated that they could be looking towards a bridge deal this summer but if things have soured enough to where contract negotiations remain tabled, could the Flyers look to swap defensemen with Buffalo.
Moving off of York would be a mistake for the Flyers considering what we’ve seen from him over the years. His offensive numbers haven’t popped but he was very rarely used in offensive situations, especially this year, and this was coming off a season in which he finished 2023-24 averaging nearly 24-25 minutes a game.
If they can add Byram without letting go of York, the Flyers defense will look a whole lot better on paper, especially if Ristolainen can return from his injury somewhere in the beginning of the 2025-26 campaign.
Byram’s situation should be monitored very closely and if Buffalo is looking to make a deal near the draft, the Flyers should be all over it. It’s very unlikely all 7 draft picks are going to be used in the first 2 rounds, which could amplify a trade of this calibre.
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