Chicago Blackhawks fans had been pounding the table for General Manager Kyle Davidson to do something, anything, to improve the team. Davidson did just that — much to the chagrin of seemingly the majority of the fan base — on Tuesday night, acquiring Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres in a blockbuster move. The deal saw Louis Crevier and the fourth and 45th overall picks in the 2026 NHL Draft head to the Sabres.
trade alert 🔔 pic.twitter.com/ZpL5eOx0cI
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 24, 2026
At first glance, the price paid by the Blackhawks seems to be high, potentially very high. But we do not live in a black-and-white world. Context matters, greatly. That’s why we felt it was important to write this article, to provide that context, because there are a lot of people out there who either willingly or ignorantly cannot grasp the context. Careful what you wish for, Blackhawks fans. You just might get it.
Byram fills a huge need
Right off the bat, the most obvious element of this trade is that Byram fills a massive hole the organization had: a left-handed defenseman legitimately capable of playing top-pair minutes. Simply put, Alex Vlasic is not that guy (which we will address later), and it is feeling more and more likely that Kevin Korchinski will not be, either. Despite what some fans think, you could make a very strong argument that the biggest remaining need for the Blackhawks to become a long-term future contender was a top-pairing left-handed defenseman. While Byram has not filled that role yet in his career, he has not been in a situation where he needed to be, playing behind elite defensemen like Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin.
Byram took a big step forward in his two full seasons in Buffalo, tallying 38 points in 2024-25 before posting a career-best 42 this season. Of note, just seven of those came on the power play, as Byram was on Buffalo’s second unit. He should absolutely have the opportunity to play significant minutes on the man advantage, and it is already very easy to envision him dishing passes to Connor Bedard and Anton Frondell on the flanks. If that does not get you excited, nothing will.
Byram also immediately becomes Chicago’s most experienced defenseman under contract and has a Stanley Cup on his resume to boot. Adding an experienced blue-liner (or two) was definitely something needing to be addressed this summer.
The Hawks could not afford to wait to draft and develop a left-handed top-pair defenseman
A critical element of this deal is the timing in terms of the Blackhawks’ rebuild. The team needs to start its ascension in a tangible way in 2026-27, period. Using the fourth overall pick on a defenseman — which was the likely scenario, as we will unpack momentarily — would have resulted in waiting at least three or four years for that player to be making an impact.
By swapping that pick for Byram, the Blackhawks are fully cutting out that wait. Byram can perform as an impact player beginning this October. Another element of this tradeoff is whether any of the defensemen in this draft class will ever become what Byram already is, and that is an entirely legitimate argument, with some draft analysts feeling the top blue-liners are no more than low-end first-pairing guys long term.
Whether fans like the trade or not, it accomplished exactly what they were asking — nay, demanding — Davidson to do in selling future assets for an immediate impact player. This move clearly indicates the building phase of the rebuild is over and the ascension phase is now here.
Byram is ready and motivated to prove himself as a top-pairing guy, and he will now have the opportunity to do so with the team he grew up cheering for.
a full circle moment for our newest Hawk ❤️
everyone say hi bowen 👋 pic.twitter.com/39BzeoEAbI
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 24, 2026
Stenberg will almost positively be gone before the fourth pick
It is very likely the narrative surrounding the top of the draft had an impact on the fourth overall pick being dealt. Following the draft lottery, there was plenty of debate about San Jose opting to take the best defenseman at second overall and the assumption Vancouver would take Caleb Malhotra. Those narratives have very clearly shifted this week, especially following San Jose’s trading of William Eklund, opening a clear path for them to draft Ivar Stenberg. There have also been reports that Vancouver will pass on Malhotra. As such, the likelihood of Stenberg falling to the Blackhawks dropped to essentially zero, as only Stenberg and Gavin McKenna can be projected as top-line wingers, something the Blackhawks need. This made the fourth overall pick much less appealing to them and making it a far more viable asset to use to improve the team immediately. Another consideration here following the trade is the Blackhawks being very high on Roman Kantserov, who will likely be given a good opportunity to play running mate to Connor Bedard. Yes, adding another top-end winger to the team would be great, but the Blackhawks do have some quality pieces already who could fill that role down the road, at least to some extent. The same could not be said about a top-pair left-handed defenseman.
The landscape for acquiring high-end talent has changed
With going after Byram, Chicago was targeting a legitimate talent who could not say to his general manager, “I’m only going to Minnesota, Las Vegas, Carolina or Florida.” That’s right, an abundance of talented players under contract carry no-movement-clauses, and should they be approached for a possible trade, they want to go to a winner, and likely not the rebuilding Blackhawks. At 25, Byram does not have such a clause and therefore is a hot commodity. There was no way this was coming cheap and the golden ticket to outbid other suitors came with the fourth overall pick. Yes, losing that pick is a tough one to swallow, but the Hawks just acquired a now-seasoned former fourth overall pick in doing so. That cannot be lost in this.
Acquiring Byram allows Vlasic and Kaiser to be properly slotted
Vlasic is not a top-pairing defenseman but rather a stabilizing second-pairing player, and there is nothing wrong with that. Prior to this trade, the Blackhawks did not have an effective puck-moving defenseman needed to support the play offensively. Wyatt Kaiser is a solid bottom-pairing defensive defenseman and will be more effective in limited minutes. To round out a top five — the current best of which being Byram — of defensemen 25 years old or younger, now with more experience, will effectively balance a better defensive core. Acquiring Byram also takes pressure off the rest of the group, as they can slot into more realistic roles for where they are at in their development. That in and of itself is a valuable part of this.
Greenway is a valuable depth piece
You can call Greenway a throw-in piece and that’s fine, as he has had a difficult time staying healthy. Yet if you watched him on the forecheck in the first two rounds of the playoffs, you may be getting excited. He’ll be on the third or fourth line with the Blackhawks but brings a big no-nonsense physical game and he can also chuck ’em. For a young team coming along that cannot afford to be pushed around every night, Greenway at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds will bring some needed thunder to the lineup.
Selling high on Crevier
This is a bummer of sorts losing Crevier, a former seventh-round pick who has far surpassed expectations already, but coming off a career year, his value is high and ceiling as a bottom-pairing defenseman solidified. It should not be that difficult for the Hawks to replace Crevier with another right-handed limited-minute defenseman. Fully expect Crevier to go on and do well in Buffalo, and he will thrive in his role there, but he would not have been a huge difference maker in Chicago as they claw their way back. It was an unfortunate loss, as you would rather have him than not, but even with his departure, the 2026-27 Blackhawks undoubtedly got better through this trade.
from your rookie lap to now, thank you for everything Crev ❤️ pic.twitter.com/O4vPlclQOw
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 24, 2026
Takeaways
In the end, yes, the price paid to complete the deal was high. But given the context, this was exactly the type of swing Davidson needed to take. Seeing him actually take the swing is another step in the right direction, making a tangible move to improve this team both now and in the future. For the “Do something! No, not that!” crowd, let it play out. And for the love of all that’s holy, stop calling for Davidson’s head, and don’t hate Byram for the sake of feeding your Davidson hatred. The offseason is not over and the Blackhawks have a number of quality assets still to use. As we have said from day one of this rebuild in 2022, let the process properly unfold and enjoy the ride in the meantime.