Bowen Byram started life as a Blackhawk and a married man this summer, and he knows the expectations that precede him in both of his new titles. But that pressure is nothing he isn’t used to – or prepared for.
By Jared Clinton, features writer
It's every young couple’s dream. Fall in love. See the world. Have a perfect, scenic wedding. And when the nuptials are finished, the cake has been cut and the first dance is over, pack your bags, board a plane and be whisked away…to Chicago to do some house hunting?
All right, fair, that last part isn’t quite ripped from the center spread of a bridal magazine, nor is a realty tour of the Windy City the hot new experience on offer at the various wedding-themed trade shows that pop up across the greater convention-center landscape. But how does that old chestnut go? You make a plan, and NHL GMs laugh? Bowen Byram would be the first to tell you that’s been the case for him this off-season.
Let’s run down Byram’s summer, shall we? After the highest-scoring season of his young career and his second full campaign in Buffalo, in which he helped the Sabres snap the second-longest playoff drought in professional sports, Byram blew out 25 birthday candles on June 13. Ten days later, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Three days after that, he and his partner, Kailey, tied the knot. Fast forward another five days, and Byram and his bride had touched down in Chicago. That Byram has made time in there to breathe is a minor miracle. It does mean, though, that certain things have had to fall by the wayside.
For instance, his honeymoon. While not exactly a sore subject, it was broached when Byram met with media for the first time as a Blackhawk.
“We were originally just going to go home, but then everything happened,” Byram told reporters. “But then I – well, me and my wife – wanted to get down here to try to find a place to live. So, it worked out well. Maybe I can sell that as the honeymoon.”
Under normal circumstances, we’d suggest – gently – that he’d have an easier time getting away with ketchup on a Chicago dog than selling this idea of a staycation honeymoon. And that’s all the more true given Byram put pen to paper on a six-year, $75-million contract extension the same day he noted he was hitting open houses instead of the beach. But as it turns out, checking out some real estate before putting down roots in the Windy City might have to suffice. That’s because days after the ink dried on his deal, the Byrams announced they were expecting twins. So, sure, baby-proofing a brand-new home might well take precedence over any jet-setting, especially with double trouble on the way.
I don’t think pressure is anything I’m not totally used to. I’ve been kind of under the gun my whole career- Bowen Byram
If all of this makes it sound as if Byram’s off-ice life has been a whirlwind, that’s because it has been. And unfortunately for Byram, his life at the rink isn’t about to offer much relief.
In Buffalo, and through his earliest years with the Colorado Avalanche before that, Byram was an important cog on the back end. His ice-time averages have eclipsed 20 minutes in each of the past four campaigns and climbed above 22 minutes each of the past two seasons with the Sabres. He was also third in playoff ice time among defensemen for the Avalanche en route to hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022 and second last year with the Sabres as they came within one win of punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference final. But in Chicago, Byram is in for an entirely new challenge. He won’t be a guy but the guy on the Blackhawks’ blueline.
If any of that is weighing on Byram, however, you’d never know.
“I feel like I’ve had pressure my whole career,” he said. “I was a fourth-overall pick six years ago or whatever it is. I’ve played in a lot of big games – world-junior games, WHL-final games, Stanley Cup-final games and Game 7s in the playoffs. I feel like, for being a young guy and only playing around 300 games in the NHL, I’ve got a lot of experience. I’ll definitely draw on that. But, like I said, I don’t think pressure is anything that I’m not totally used to. I feel like I’ve been kind of under the gun my whole career, whether it’s trade rumors, pressure to perform or underperforming, whatever it might be. It’s something that I’m used to, for sure.”
Fair enough.
It should be said, though, that the expectations heaped upon Byram will outstrip anything he’s faced prior. That would be true by simple virtue of his newfound role as the Blackhawks’ nailed-on No. 1 defenseman. But everything is heightened by the context surrounding Byram’s now-place in the hierarchy of big-league blueliners. To wit, at the time of his signing, he was slated to be the highest-paid D-man in the NHL come 2027-28, with an annual price tag of $12.5 million.
Byram laughed about the highest-paid designation, alluding to a couple of top-tier rearguards who were sure to take up the mantle soon. Cale Makar eventually shattered Byram’s record with an eight-year extension worth $20.4 million annually, and Quinn Hughes is a pending UFA. And while Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson noted, too, when he met with media that Byram’s status as earner-in-chief was on the clock, he was more bullish on his new star blueliner being worth every penny.
“The traits that Bo possesses are, in our opinion, elite ones,” Davidson said. “They’re ones that are in high, high demand around the league. And they are ones that we believe, when put into the position that we’re going to put him in this year, demand a significant reward and compensation. That’s something we believe he’s going to step into. He’s going to own it. He’s going to prove it and be worth the investment we’re placing in him.”
The traits Bo possesses are in high, high demand around the league. He’s going to prove it and be worth the investment- Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson
It’s not just the dollars, either, that Davidson is confident Byram can live up to. It’s the cost of acquisition. To land Byram from the Sabres in the first place, the Blackhawks sent defenseman Louis Crevier along with the 2026 draft’s fourth (Daxon Rudolph) and 45th picks (Jayden Kurtz). Though not speaking solely about Byram – he was also noting leveraging draft capital to target specific players on draft day – Davidson acknowledged the price was high but that “getting your guy” brings real value to the table.
“There’s just not many opportunities to get certain players that you really, really believe in,” Davidson said. “They just don’t come available that often, whether in the draft, a trade, free agency or whatever it may be. Good players are very, very hard to come by. So, when you do believe and have an open lane to try and do something, I believe it’s incumbent on you to act and make it happen.”
The assuredness from Davidson comes from his belief “offense starts from the back out” and that Byram can be the linchpin of the top pairing and the primary quarterback on the power play. That’s also where Byram sees himself making the greatest impact on the offensively starved Blackhawks.
Even with Connor Bedard driving the offense, a young gun such as Frank Nazar adding 41 points in 66 games and Tyler Bertuzzi posting a career-best 32-goal season, Chicago finished the 2025-26 campaign tied for the second-fewest goals. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks mustered more power-play tallies than just five teams and saw their defensemen, as a collective, produce fewer points than any other club. Byram aims to change that.
“I’m at my best when I’m breaking the puck out, getting the puck up the ice quickly to our forwards and getting the puck in their hands,” he said. “At the end of the day, you want the puck in your best players’ hands. We have a lot of really good, skilled young forwards, so I’m looking forward to playing with them and learning from them. Hopefully, I can teach them a couple things as well.”
Of course, Byram will be expected to do more than put points on the board. The common criticism of his game has been less about what he does in the offensive zone than what he does in his own. And though Byram said one of the most important lessons he’s learned through his six seasons in The Bigs is the importance of confidence and to have faith in his game, that doesn’t mean he’s averse to growth.
“I don’t think I necessarily need to change anything,” he said. “Do I think I can be better and evolve? One-hundred percent. I’m going to get the opportunity to do so here, and I’m super excited for that, but I also think I’m ready for it physically, mentally, on the ice, off the ice, whatever it might be, to do so.”
Ultimately, too, that was what Byram sought and, even before setting foot on the ice in a Blackhawks sweater, has found in Chicago: opportunity. But he’s also been handed the keys to the back end of a once-dominant franchise that has, in recent years, fallen into a state of disarray. Indebted isn’t quite the word, but Byram indeed feels a sense of responsibility to be integral to driving the Blackhawks forward.
“They’ve shown a lot of faith in me, and they’ve given up a lot and committed to me in many, many ways,” he said. “So, now, the ball’s in my court to perform. I’m excited for that opportunity. I’m excited for that challenge. It means the world.”
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This article appeared in The Hockey News' Meet The New Guys 2026.
Our annual XXL-sized Meet The New Guys 2026 edition has everything you need to know about the upcoming NHL season in one book. Inside, you'll find stories on plenty of new players in new environments, like Gavin McKenna, Mason McTavish, Alex Tuch, Brady Tkachuk, and more.
