Bowen Byram’s time in Buffalo has likely come to an end.

The Buffalo Sabres have chosen to take the restricted free agent defenseman to salary arbitration. The team elected arbitration option provides positives for both sides. The Sabres made the move to protect themselves from a potential offer sheet for Byram. The salary arbitration process eliminates the possibility of an offer sheet.

For Byram’s camp, it gives the  24-year-old blueliner the choice to opt for a one or two-year award from the arbitration process.  If the two-year contract option is accepted, it will walk Byram right to unrestricted free agency. Although Byram has not specifically asked for a trade, there remains the question of where he would fit in the Buffalo lineup moving forward.

His path to a more prominent role on the Sabres blueline is blocked by the presence of team captain Rasmus Dahlin and 2021 first overall draft selection Owen Power. Although when paired with Dahlin, Byram has performed very well in his time in Buffalo.

The well-stocked Sabres defense makes the odds of  Byram agreeing to a long-term deal in Buffalo remote. The Sabres have maintained that they are open to all options, including short-term or longer-term contracts, as well as a trade. There has been interest in securing Byram’s services around the league.

However, the Sabres have yet to find a trade offer that would deliver enough to Buffalo in return. In the right deal, a Byram move could be used to obtain the scoring winger needed to replace the departed JJ Peterka. The possibility of a resolution before the arbitration hearing remains in play, but the arbitration process can be confrontational and often drives a wedge between the team and the player.

Although the looming arbitration will bring about a resolution in some form in the near future, the Sabres and Bowen Byram appear to have reached a point of no return.

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