After the Chicago Blackhawks traded their fourth overall pick plus other assets to Buffalo for star defenseman Bowen Byram last week, the writing was on the wall for Byram to sign a huge extension. The Blackhawks were certainly going to have to take out a second mortgage to lock him down, especially since Byram held all the leverage—to let him slip through the cracks and be nothing but a rental would be an embarrassment.
Early Wednesday morning, the Blackhawks made Byram the highest paid player in franchise history. Starting in the 2027-28 season, they’ll pay their new top defenseman $12.5 million annually for six years for a $75 million total. That surpasses the contracts given to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in 2014 at $10.5 million annually each. He hopefully won’t hold that top spot for long, as Connor Bedard hit restricted free agency today.
His AAV also makes him the highest paid defenseman in the entire NHL starting next season—for now. Guys like Zach Werenski, Cale Makar, and Quinn Hughes should be extended this summer (maybe today) and should pass that number.
Many fans online won’t be thrilled that Byram will be paid the same amount as Connor McDavid. To be clear, after last week’s trade (love it or hate it), this was the move GM Kyle Davidson had to make. Byram projects to be a true No. 1 defenseman with a sky-high ceiling. The same fans who might call for Davidson’s job now would be doing the same thing if they weren’t able to make a deal with him.
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The deal also looks bad on paper, but certainly won’t break the Blackhawks’ bank. With the NHL salary cap skyrocketing, Chicago has more than enough room. By 2033 when his deal is over, he probably won’t even be in the top 15-20 highest paid blueliners. It doesn’t even start until the 2027-28 season, when the cap jumps another $9.5 million over this year. We may even feel better about this deal by the end of the first day of free agency—with huge offer sheets potentially being signed, trades, and other free agency turmoil, the deal isn’t nearly as bad as it looks.
Beyond that, if Byram plays like a true No. 1 defenseman like Chicago expects, no one will argue that he’s worth $12.5 million. He profiles as the player Artyom Levshunov was supposed to become: a terrific offensive defenseman who can score while setting up his teammates, while being at least serviceable on defense. The Blackhawks’ current defensive group has a bunch of players (Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, etc.) who are defensively responsible but struggle to generate chances. Sure, Chicago still needs to acquire a big-name winger for Bedard, but a defenseman that can set him up like Byram can is the next-best thing. And for a salary that will feel like a drop in the bucket a few years down the line, maybe it’s not such a bad deal after all.
