Sabres leading scorer swapped for Cup-winning blueliner
Sabres leading scorer swapped for Cup-winning blueliner
The Buffalo Sabres were expected to be busy before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, with a half dozen pending unrestricted free agents, but GM Kevyn Adams surprised many by pulling off a one-for-one deal with the Colorado Avalanche, trading center Casey Mittelstadt for 22-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram.
Mittelstadt led the Sabres with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games, but presented a dilemma for the club this summer with his three-year, $7.5 million deal expiring. The 25-year-old was an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and one year away from unrestricted free agency.
GM Kevyn Adams was rumored to have been seeking to upgrade the Sabres blueline last summer, but in the end did not acquire veterans such as Noah Hanifin or Brett Pesce, with one year remaining on their contracts, and instead signed veteran Erik Johnson to a one-year deal and Connor Clifton to a three-year deal.
Byram, 22, was the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a member of Colorado’s 2022 Cup-winning squad. He has 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) in 55 games this season, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.
Byram joins a Sabres defense corps with former top overall picks Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, but more important to the Sabres is the fact that he is signed through next season at $3.85 million before qualifying for salary arbitration in 2025 and is under team control for three seasons.
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