Bowen Byram trade looking better for Blackhawks after first round

The Chicago Blackhawks realized they would be picking a defenseman at fourth overall and that Ivan Stenberg would not be available. They realized they needed a number-one defenseman, and none of the current Blackhawks defensemen meet that label. They would have to look outward.

Sure, Alex Vlasic is a great defenseman, but I doubt he would be more than a second-pairing defenseman at best on a contending team. The Blackhawks needed that extra punch from the defense, and I guess they think the Byram-Levshunov pairing may work out, given that they traded their current best right-handed defenseman, Louis Crevier, in the trade.

The players coming to Chicago all meet current needs.

Enter Bowen Byram, a former fourth-overall pick (that the Blackhawks really should have used on Byram in 2019, but hindsight is 20/20) and a trusted part of the Buffalo Sabres' playoff run this season. He scored seven points in thirteen games in the postseason, averaging 22:24 time on ice per game. He is still young at 25, so his best years should be ahead of him. He is also in the right age range for the franchise's young core. If Artyom Levshunov ends up working out and becomes who the Blackhawks thought he would be when they drafted him, this top pairing could terrorize the opposition for the next decade.

I wasn't expecting Jordan Greenway to be on the Hawks either, but I suppose he's great on the fourth line and can give the physical swagger the team desperately needs. With, hopefully, AJ Spellacy on his way up and Sasha Boisvert adding more mass to his frame, the fourth line could be that speedy, physical line that teams hate going against. He knows how to fight as well, which can only be a good thing with the hard-nosed prospects coming to fill the bottom-six.

Now, the package was a bit much to consider, but given that the Sabres used the fourth-overall pick on a perceived reach, this looks just a tiny bit better. Maybe Daxon Rudolph turns out to be a stud and moved for Alex Tuch's replacement later in the year, but the value likely goes down. He is a great prospect, don't get me wrong, but a trade with Rudolph, Crevier, and a second for Byram and Greenway doesn't seem that bad on paper.

ON PAPER.

Connor Bedard still needs help on the wing, and Kyle Davidson missed on Mason McTavish when Jason Robertson is seemingly only open to going to a contender, as he declined a massive $15 million deal from the Seattle Kraken in a sign-and-trade. A contender, Chicago is not, so I doubt this would be an appealing location for the star forward, either. Matthew Knies's price is more than a fourth overall pick and prospects, so that's probably out the window, too. Back to the drawing board.

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