Blackhawks acquire Bowen Bryam for a hefty price

Chicago Blackhawks fans were growing antsy as more trades were being made throughout the day on Tuesday. When the San Jose Sharks traded forward William Eklund to the Ottawa Senators for William Eklund, it almost guaranteed that Ivar Stenberg would be the pick at No. 2. Knowing that Stenberg would not be there made the fourth overall pick more expendable.

Early in the evening, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that talks were intensifying between the Blackhawks and the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Bowen Byram. In the end, general manager Kyle Davidson sent the fourth-overall pick, the 45th-overall pick, and Louis Crevier to the Sabres for the 25-year-old defenseman and forward Jordan Greenway.  

That is a hefty price, but that’s the position the Blackhawks are in. They are yet to become a destination, and other teams know how desperate they are to improve, so the price of poker goes up. As I wrote earlier this week, Byram solidifies the left side for years to come with Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser. He’ll get his opportunity to be a top-pairing defenseman and run a power play. He had a career-high 11 goals and 31 assists last season for Buffalo, while averaging 22:20 a night.

Greenway is a large and gritty winger. At 6’6 and 231 pounds, he is the exact type of player head coach Jeff Blashill was talking about when he said his team needs to be harder to play against. His biggest issue has been staying healthy over the past couple of seasons, but when he is in the lineup, he finishes his checks and stands up for his teammates.

This is an overpay, no doubt about it. But the team is better now than it was this afternoon. With the trade of Crevier, the Blackhawks still may add a right-handed shot in free agency. We’ll look back at the offseason as a whole after free agency to see exactly what this team is.

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