- Bowen Byram signs a six-year, $75 million extension with the Blackhawks
- His $12.5 million cap hit becomes the highest for any NHL defenseman
- Read below for how the deal stacks up against Kane, Toews and Seth Jones
Bowen Byram got paid, and it comes with a franchise record attached.
The Blackhawks are signing the defenseman to a six-year, $75 million extension, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Wednesday morning. The deal carries a $12.5 million cap hit and kicks in for the 2027-28 season.
That number carries weight. Once Byram signs, his $12.5 million salary will be the highest Chicago has ever handed out, topping the $10.5 million deals Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews got back in 2014. It also stands as the largest cap hit for any defenseman in the league.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN confirmed the terms shortly after Dreger’s report:
Chicago did not wait around to lock him up. The Blackhawks acquired Byram from Buffalo last week, sending the No. 4 overall pick, the 45th pick, and defenseman Louis Crevier to the Sabres. Handing over that kind of draft capital made an extension the next priority.
Byram is only 25 and coming off a career year. He put up 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points last season while averaging 22:20 of ice time with a plus-15 rating. Across his last two seasons in Buffalo, he racked up 18 goals and 80 points in 164 games.
Those numbers would have led Chicago’s blue line in each of the past two years, and he did it as a second-pairing option behind Rasmus Dahlin. Now he walks in as the clear No. 1, with all the even-strength and power-play minutes that come with the job.
The obvious comparison inside the building is Seth Jones. The Hawks gave Jones an eight-year, $76 million deal the day they traded for him in 2021. Byram’s contract lands in the same neighborhood, and Chicago is betting a 25-year-old grows into it.
