The Blackhawks’ new defenseman continues to be the talk of the Chicago sports landscape and the NHL after general manager Kyle Davidson made the blockbuster move to bring 25-year-old Bowen Byram into the fold. On Wednesday, the general managers in Chicago and Buffalo both spoke with the media, as did Byram. And the fact that Byram is entering the final season of his current contract came up in all three media sessions.
In Buffalo, Jarmo Kekäläinen said Byram and his representation wouldn’t even talk about an extension. Byram’s desire to be a top-billing defenseman after spending his career to date in the shadows of Cale Makar in Colorado and Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo made him want a change of scenery. And, as he told us yesterday, Chicago was somewhere he’s wanted to be since he was a Blackhawks fan as a kid.
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen said Bowen Byram didn't want to negotiate on a new contract. He tried to convince him throughout the year but didn't make any headway. Byram wanted to be a No. 1 defenseman.
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) June 24, 2026Byram said he wants to be in Chicago for a long time, and there’s already speculation about his next contract. Darren Dreger was on The Morning Show with Conor McKenna and Shaun Starr on TSN 690 in Montreal on Wednesday and said he thought it “would be around a four-year term and probably somewhere around $12.5, 13 million a year.”
On the Blackhawks Breakaway Podcast on Wednesday, Frank Seravalli said ““Seven [years] north of $12M sounds like a lot to me. The Blackhawks are willing to pay. I have that extension right around $10M as I see it. Is it slightly north of that? Maybe.”
On The FAN Hockey Show With Matt Marchese & Mike Futa on Sportsnet on Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman said his understanding was that the Sabres had strong interest in Byram from the Blackhawks, Sharks (owners of picks Nos. 2, 9 and 27 in the first round) and the New York Rangers (owners of pick No. 5 overall). “I heard the Rangers were in big on Bowen Byram.” And, as a reminder, there was a report the Sharks offered picks Nos. 9 and 27 in this year’s draft for him. Hey, I dropped our final full two-round mock draft earlier this morning. Yeah, I had to re-write it about a dozen times just this week with all of the picks moving. Give it a look.2026 NHL Mock Draft: FINAL Full Two-Round Projections t.co/Hc0Yjrcv80
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 25, 2026 In a post-Byram trade (and after the player and GM spoke with us) Blackhawks notebook on Wednesday, Scott Powers added this interesting comment about the Hawks’ pursuit of Matthew Knies:The Toronto Maple Leafs’ asking price for Matthew Knies was believed to be the No. 4 pick and one of the Blackhawks’ top players. I’m not sure who the Leafs asked for, but Frank Nazar or Anton Frondell seem possible. At that point, the Blackhawks are probably losing more than they’re getting.
There was some buzz out there that the Leafs had asked for Frondell and No. 4, which I wouldn’t have done in a hundred years. Here’s how Byram described Jordan Greenway on our call yesterday:“He is a big physical forward that will bring some size and grit to the lineup.”
On the Jason Robertson situation, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski tweeted this on Thursday morning:One NHL executive that inquired about him said [the Dallas Stars] were seeking a “Rantanen” package back for the RFA winger. Please recall they sent two protected 1st-rounders, two 3rds and 2nd-year center Logan Stankoven to Carolina.
After moving out of Byram’s cap hit for the coming season, the Sabres were able to retain at least one of their core players. On Wednesday, Buffalo signed Zach Benson to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $7.5 million. When Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekäläinen spoke with the media after his big trade with the Blackhawks, he said they would miss veteran forward Alex Tuch. Which got a lot of people’s attention. A few insiders reported they made a last ditch effort to sign him but it didn’t work. Later on Wednesday we learned the Sabres agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that sends Tuch, who signed a new eight-year contract with a $10.5M cap hit, to the Washington Capitals for a third-round pick in 2027 and Blackhawks legend David Kampf. The Caps have now added Jordan Kyrou and Tuch up front before the draft even begins. It kinds feels like maybe Alex Ovechkin isn’t coming back…?NEWS | The Washington Capitals have acquired forward Alex Tuch from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2027 third-round pick (originally from San Jose) and forward David Kampf. Prior to the trade, Buffalo signed Tuch to an eight-year, $84 million contract extension.#ALLCAPS | @Shift4
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 24, 2026 An interesting trade between Nashville and Colorado — again. The Predators acquired forwards Jack Drury and Chase Bradley and Colorado’s third-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft from the Avalanche in exchange for forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov. The Preds acquired forward Ross Colton from the Avs eight days ago. As a reminder: Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Chris MacFarland was the general manager in Denver this past season. The trade smoke continues to fly around the NHL, and it sounds like the St. Louis Blues — who own four picks in the first round tomorrow night — are trying to move up. Outgoing general manager Doug Armstrong said they’re open for business, mentioning the top four overall picks specifically. It also sounds like he’s getting some exercise… well, sort of.Blues GM Doug Armstrong on NHL trade talk:"Sunday, the ball started to roll and now everybody's on the treadmill and it's gone from a nice leisurely 2.5 walk (to) it's probably a 4.5 walk today and there'll probably be a 6 jog tomorrow and an 8 run on Friday."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) June 24, 2026 The Rockford IceHogs signed goaltender Thomas Gale to a one-year AHL contract. This is an important nugget regarding the new CBA, that kicks in this coming season. Players from the CHL and NCAA will all have a four-year signing window now, which levels the playing field a bit.NHL Draft note – The 4 year signing window equalization begins with this draft class. NHL teams will have 4 years to sign players drafted from either the CHL or NCAA.Previously it had been 2 years for players drafted out of the CHL.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) June 24, 2026 This is significant news for both college hockey and fans looking ahead to the 2027 NHL Draft already. Landon DuPont, considered the No. 1 prospects in next year’s class, will join a deep, talented roster at the University of Michigan.The Landon DuPont sweepstakes have come to a close. The presumptive first overall pick next year will head to Ann Arbor and play for the Univeristy of Michigan. Massive get.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 24, 2026 Finally, the CHL announced their overall All-Star teams on Wednesday. No Blackhawks prospects made the lists.The best of the best! ✨Introducing your 2025-26 CHL First All-Star Team as chosen by the media! ? #CHLAwards ? t.co/3THhvm3oh6 pic.twitter.com/v4Zbuh9nBr
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 24, 2026BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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