Why Bowen Byram is wearing a new number with the Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman has had quite the week, one he will never forget. He was traded, had his wedding, and then became the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL (until Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes break the market), all in the span of eight days.

“It’s been a whirlwind – getting moved, and then married, and now down here trying to find a place to live,” Byram said while meeting the media on Wednesday.

Shaking Off the Pressure

Unless there is an unlikely trade with the Dallas Stars or Columbus Blue Jackets coming between now and the start of training camp, Bryam is the biggest acquisition of the offseason. When the dust settles, paying a high price for a 25-year-old No. 1 defenseman will look like a savvy move. That is, of course, Byram becomes the elite blueliner he and general manager Kyle Davidson believe that he is.

Regardless of how Byram and Davidson feel, the fan base needs to see the proof on the ice. They are starved for this team to take the next step, and growing restless for better results. Not bringing in an elite forward to help Connor Bedard only increases the pressure on Byram to justify his cost. However, this doesn’t seem to affect the young defenseman.

“I feel like I’ve had pressure my whole career,” he said. “I was a fourth-overall pick. I’ve played in a lot of big games: World Juniors, Western League Finals, Stanley Cup Final, Game 7s in the playoffs. I feel like, for being a young guy and only playing around 300 games in the NHL, I have a lot of experience. I’ll definitely draw on that. I don’t think pressure is something that I’m not totally used to. I feel like I’ve been under the gun my whole career, whether it's trade rumors or pressure to perform, whatever it might be.”

Respect Might Not Be the Only Reason

Byram spent some time on the ice Wednesday morning with his new teammates, Alex Vlasic and Artyom Levshunov. He had No. 24 on his helmet, which he later confirmed he would wear with the Blackhawks. He’s worn No. 4 his entire NHL career, but he named Niklas Hjalmarsson as one of the reasons for the switch.

“There isn’t really any significance,” he said of choosing No. 24. “Nobody told me or said ‘Don’t wear this number’ or ‘Don’t wear that number.’ I think everyone in the hockey world has a lot of respect for some players on their team and what they did. There’s a select number of guys who won three Cups in a short amount of time. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes. I wanted to wear 24. I think Hjalmarsson wore 4 in the past, so I wanted to make sure that was his. I have a lot of respect for him and what he did in Chicago.”

While I believe there is a lot of truth to that, I wonder how much the last guy who wore No. 4 had to do with the decision. Seth Jones was also acquired before the draft for a high price and then signed to a huge contract extension. The results never came, but that wasn’t his fault, as he signed with the team looking to keep a contention window open to a team that went into full rebound mode within six weeks of his first season starting.

The Byram deal is already being compared to the Jones situation, unfairly on most levels, so trotted onto the ice wearing No. 4 would only amplify that. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter what number he wears as long as he performs, but that had to be part of the thinking when choosing it. No. 24 has a great legacy with the Blackhawks, too. Doug Wilson wore it for his entire Hall of Fame career. In his 14 seasons in Chicago, he scored 225 goals and 770 points and won a Norris Trophy. Nobody would criticize the trade or contract if he performs closer to Wilson than Jones!

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow