Bowen Byram sees himself as a No. 1 defenseman. Unfortunately, he's been stuck in no-man's land with the past couple of teams. The Colorado Avalanche have Cale Makar and the Buffalo Sabres have Rasmus Dahlin. That will make for some tough sledding for a young defenseman to finally claim that throne.
Ironically, the Vegas Golden Knights don't have one No. 1 defenseman. Instead, they have a couple of No. 1 defensemen with the likes of Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore holding the title. Still, you want to hold onto that title with the next man up in the near future.
Of course, that's one reason why the Golden Knights should explore a trade for the young defenseman. Why not prepare for the future and get the right guy for the job? He's looking to be the team's future (or at least part of it) and carry Vegas to the top of the hockey world again.
But that's not the only reason. The Vegas Golden Knights actually have some incentives to bringing the Canadian defenseman aboard. They can do business with the Sabres once more and prepare themselves for a brighter future with a newsworthy trade. Here's why Kelly McCrimmon should look into making a deal for Byram.
Why Kelly McCrimmon should explore a trade for Bowen Byram
The Golden Knights aren't getting any younger as a team. They were the league's second-oldest team this past season (30.04 average age) and could use some fresh faces on the team. What better person to call for the job than Byram, who's only 25 years old?
Bowen Byram is once again on the trade block. He had his best season in a while with the Sabres last year, putting his solid tools (wheels, puck-carrying, individual chance creation) to solid use in a 22-minute-a-night role. Still not a massive analytical darling though. pic.twitter.com/gklR4P4FDz
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 18, 2026
He also has a reasonable cap hit of $6.25 million, which makes him a good development project. Golden Knights fans saw what happened with Pavel Dorofeyev in the 2025-26 season. Leading the team in goals scored (37) and setting the single-season power play goals record (20) are good enough reasons to take on another project like this.
On top of that, you're getting a primary assist machine with Byram posting 15. He's also developing as a goal-scorer with three double-digit tallies in four seasons. You also have a versatile defenseman who can play both sides and take up sizable minutes.
Add in a penchant for blocking shots and taking the puck away and you have the finishing touches for a good development project. Of course, he must work on taking care of the puck, especially in the defensive zone (107 defensive zone giveaways in the past two seasons). That also goes for his shot selection needing to develop further.
Still, you can't deny that Byram would be a good project for Kelly McCrimmon to undertake. The Golden Knights just hired a youthful-minded head coach in Ryan Craig, given that he's done tremendous work with the Henderson Silver Knights. Therefore, don't be surprised if the general manager pulls the trigger on adding one more Sabres player to the mix.
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