- Buffalo sends Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the No. 4 overall pick
- The Sabres also pick up defenseman Louis Crevier and the No. 45 selection
- Read below for why Buffalo now owns two first-round picks at this week’s draft
The Sabres traded Bowen Byram to the Blackhawks on Tuesday, and the centerpiece coming back to Buffalo is the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Byram knows that slot. Colorado took him fourth overall in 2019. Seven years later, the Sabres flipped him for the exact same pick.
Buffalo didn’t stop at the first-rounder. The Sabres also picked up defenseman Louis Crevier and the No. 45 selection. Chicago added forward Jordan Greenway to its side of the deal.
Byram is coming off the best season of his career. The 25-year-old defenseman posted 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) in 82 games, then chipped in seven more in 13 playoff games as Buffalo made its first postseason run since 2010-11.
He has one year left on the two-year, $12.5 million contract he signed with the Sabres last July. That $6.25 million cap hit moves to Chicago for a defenseman who already owns a Stanley Cup ring from his Colorado days.
For Buffalo, this is about stocking the draft. The Sabres now hold two first-round picks, No. 4 and No. 20, with the draft running at their own KeyBank Center starting Friday. Winning the Atlantic Division bought them room to move a good player for assets.
Chicago went the other direction. The Blackhawks finished last in the Central and haven’t reached the playoffs since 2019-20, so giving up the No. 4 spot for a 25-year-old top-four defenseman fits a team trying to win sooner. Crevier and Greenway head to Buffalo as the secondary pieces.
The move caps a wild day around the league, one that also sent William Eklund to Ottawa. Buffalo walks away with two cracks at the first round on home ice.
