NHL Rumors: What Team-Elected Salary Arbitration Means for Bowen Byram

SDPN: (YouTube) Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie on The Chris Johnston Show talking about the Buffalo Sabres electing for salary arbitration for defenseman Bowen Byram and what it means.

** NHLRumors transcription

McKenzie: “I’d like to at least check in on some other names that have been flown out there. What about Bowen Byron? That’s the name we’ve discussed on this show a few times.

Johnston: “Yeah. Interesting spot now, because the Sabers have elected for Team-elected salary arbitration with Bowen Byram. Which, you know, means a couple things.

First of all, he gets to choose whether it would be a one or a two-year award from the arbitrator. Which is interesting in his case, because he’s two years from unrestricted free agency.

So you know, to my knowledge, he hasn’t chosen what his award will be, but he has the ability to say, hey, I’ll go through arbitration, and it’s a two-year award, and then I’m a UFA at the end. So it hands him some power, but what it does is it takes away his ability now to sign an offer sheet.

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And you know, as it turns out, we still haven’t had an offer sheet this summer. I think if you were looking for a place you might find one. There was definitely some smoke around the possibility of Byram getting one. And so you know, that possibility is now removed.

And further to that, you know, we know the Sabers are willing to move Byram if they can get the right sort of player package back. And they now have until, essentially, his arbitration hearing to get that piece of business done.

And so, you know, the arbitration hearings haven’t been scheduled, but they’ll be held between July 20th and August 4th. It kind of sets the clock on a decision one way or another. And so you know, you know, at the end of it, if nothing works out, if you don’t get a longer-term contract extension with him, done with him. If you don’t find a trade, you can just go through the arbitration hearing and you get the award and the players under contract for at least one or two more years from that point. But I do think it does focus in on those types of conversations.

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