The Buffalo Sabres will match any offer sheet to retain defenseman Bowen Byram but will entertain trade offers if the return would immediately help the team, general manager Kevyn Adams said Wednesday.
Byram, 24, is a restricted free agent. Adams told reporters he isn’t interested in letting Byram walk away with an offer sheet from another team, a move that would net draft picks for the Sabres.
“We believe Bo is an excellent hockey player who can help our team win,” Adams said.
“But … if there is a deal out there that makes sense for us, that is going to improve our roster, we’re open to it. But we’re not in a situation where we’re looking to move him out or move him for futures.”
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Adams said the team is prepared to match an offer sheet.
“That’s why the moves we’ve made and the position that we’ve put ourselves in from a cap perspective have been strategic,” he said. “If you leave just enough room in your cap where you maybe see a projection on a one-year deal and then someone comes over the top, you’re potentially putting your organization in a really tough spot.
“The moves we’ve made and decisions we’ve made for weeks now are with that in mind. We’ll be matching and have the opportunity to have a player under contract who we think helps our team win.”
The Sabres acquired Byram — the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NHL draft by the Avalanche — in a deal with Colorado at the 2024 trade deadline.
In the 2024-25 season, he played all 82 games and scored a career-high 38 points (seven goals, 31 assists).
In 246 career games with the Avalanche and Sabres, Byram has 110 points (33 goals, 77 assists) with 313 blocks and 337 hits.
