Player Discussion Bowen Byram - LHD (4th OA 2019 - Trade with Avs 3-6-2024) 22 YO - Signed Thru 2024-25 $3.85 Million Cap Hit (RFA)

[Doug Prishpreed]

How is Byram having a bad season? He is on pace for 12 goals and 18 assists and doesn't even play big minutes or get much PP time. Mittelstaedt is having a good season but hardly a 1st line guy. He's been playing at this level for less than 100 games but keep telling me about the risk.

He's pretty bad in most of the important categories. Someone posted his metrics on one of these threads and they were pretty awful. Same with moneypuck, etc.

 

[Fjordy]

How is Byram having a bad season? He is on pace for 12 goals and 18 assists and doesn't even play big minutes or get much PP time. Mittelstaedt is having a good season but hardly a 1st line guy. He's been playing at this level for less than 100 games but keep telling me about the risk.

Because his metrics are not good, he played minutes of the second pair, which is logical with Makar and Toews.

 

[Chainshot]

Cozens Postgame vs. TOR | Buffalo Sabres

Dylan Cozens addresses the media.

www.nhl.com

Cozens refers to Byram as "his best friend" during the post game scrum last night.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Gotta think one of Power Samuelsson RyJo are on the way out.

I don't think that at all. Adams doesnt care much about handedness. Johnson is a solid player on an ELC. No reason to trade him. They just made huge contract commitments to Power and Samuelsson. Those two are viewed as long term pieces.

If any of the defense is on the way out, it's likely Jokiharju. Like Mittelstadt, he's the one at his position that has only received bridge contracts (justifiably in this case) and then becomes the odd man out cap wise.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Because his metrics are not good, he played minutes of the second pair, which is logical with Makar and Toews.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

I don't think that at all. Adams doesnt care much about handedness. Johnson is a solid player on an ELC. No reason to trade him. They just made huge contract commitments to Power and Samuelsson. Those two are viewed as long term pieces.

If any of the defense is on the way out, it's likely Jokiharju. Like Mittelstadt, he's the one at his position that has only received bridge contracts (justifiably in this case) and then becomes odd man out cap wise.

Dahlin-Jokiharju has been by far the Sabres best pairing for two seasons. I don't understand why they seem so keen to split them up. Their problem is that Power-Dahlin have not worked well together, and Dahlin-Samuelsson hasn't been great either.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I don't think that at all. Adams doesnt care much about handedness. Johnson is a solid player on an ELC. No reason to trade him. They just made huge contract commitments to Power and Samuelsson. Those two are viewed as long term pieces.

If any of the defense is on the way out, it's likely Jokiharju. Like Mittelstadt, he's the one at his position that has only received bridge contracts (justifiably in this case) and then becomes the odd man out cap wise.

Why are we trading any D?

 

[KeyserSoze81]

You'll love Byram. Yes, he slacks in regular season from time to time (compared to when he's one fire) but he also elevates his game to the next level when it matters the most:
- Last minutes of WJC final in PK to protect the lead? Sure.
- 26 minutes total with 10 minutes in 3rd period of Game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals? No problem. I doubt there're many defensemen of the same age who can handle such pressure well.

Our franchise has had approximately 10 games of importance in the last decade. The whole atmosphere is completely devoid of pressure or expectations. If he is not intrinsically motivated, he is more likely to pick up a substance abuse problem here than a successful hockey career.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

He looks like the villain in a made for TV drama about an unplanned teenage pregnancy.

The "looks like" game on the Dan Lebatard show was a lot of fun.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Bryam has had bad on-ice xG%

 

[Royal Thunder]

On the surface I agree that it’s a tough trade to make considering the player Casey has turned into. His hustle and skill was a great combo and he has turned into an absolute beast on the walls in puck battles and in puck protection. It’s likely he is what he is at this point and that is a very good 2C. Proud of him for eventually becoming who we thought we were drafting.

Byram has top of the lineup potential that Casey doesn’t have. That said it’s going to be very interesting how they juggle having 3 elite level talents on defense, all of who are offense first. I’m willing to wait and see how this shakes out, I don’t hate it but won’t like it until we see what Byram can bring to the team… probably need 1-2 years to properly evaluate.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Why are we trading any D?

Dahlin-Jokiharju has been by far the Sabres best pairing for two seasons. I don't understand why they seem so keen to split them up. Their problem is that Power-Samuelsson and Power-Dahlin have not worked well together. (and Dahlin-Samuelsson hasn't been great either).

I'm not stating what I think they should do. I don't think they should've traded Mittelstadt. Management has made it clear who they are committing to and who they are not.

 

[Chainshot]

Let's see what he can do.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Let's see what he can do.

Naw, he sucks. He's terrible. He hasn't played a game. Honestly, the discussion is ridiculous. When did Casey Mittelstaedt become some make-or-break player for the Sabres? I missed the moment.

I'm not stating what I think they should do. I don't think they should've traded Mittelstadt. Management has made it clear who they are committing to and who they are not.

They were going to trade Thompson or Cozens? They didn't even open contract discussions with Casey -- he was always gone.

 

[tsujimoto74]

How is Byram having a bad season? He is on pace for 12 goals and 18 assists and doesn't even play big minutes or get much PP time. Mittelstaedt is having a good season but hardly a 1st line guy. He's been playing at this level for less than 100 games but keep telling me about the risk.

Check his underlying metrics. He’s a bottom quintile defenseman even on an elite team.

He’s a Sabre now, so I can only hope he stays healthy and makes me look stupid, but I’m not super optimistic between his flagging development and the apparent lack of roster fit.

 

[Mattilaus]

You'll love Byram. Yes, he slacks in regular season from time to time (compared to when he's one fire) but he also elevates his game to the next level when it matters the most:
- Last minutes of WJC final in PK to protect the lead? Sure.
- 26 minutes total with 10 minutes in 3rd period of Game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals? No problem. I doubt there're many defensemen of the same age who can handle such pressure well.

IMO, the only reason why he became available was pure luck on Avs side - getting Toews for 2 2nd round picks, then further development of Toews into a true top-pair defenseman and then, finally, when Toews signed team friendly deal. I always thought that Byram will replace Toews after Devon signs for 9M+ p.a. on free market, but it is what it is.

That's great but him being good in big games doesn't mean anything when this team doesn't play in any big games.

He slacks in the regular season? Well that's awesome for a team that has only had the regular season for over a decade.

 

[Dingo44]

About recovering from his concussions...

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

They were going to trade Thompson or Cozens? They didn't even open contract discussions with Casey -- he was always gone.

Keeping him wasn't an either or situation. Some of them can play wing at times and there is always injuries. Personally, I'd keep my center depth and my best players. Good teams keep their best players and work out the cap in other ways.

Anyways, we have Byram now and he is extremely talented. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

 

[rams]

Dahlin-Jokiharju has been by far the Sabres best pairing for two seasons. I don't understand why they seem so keen to split them up. Their problem is that Power-Samuelsson and Power-Dahlin have not worked well together. (and Dahlin-Samuelsson hasn't been great either).

Dahlin-Samuelsson was the team's best pair last season. Samuelsson struggled a bit this year.

 

[Chainshot]

Dahlin-Jokiharju has been by far the Sabres best pairing for two seasons. I don't understand why they seem so keen to split them up. Their problem is that Power-Samuelsson and Power-Dahlin have not worked well together. (and Dahlin-Samuelsson hasn't been great either).

Is that Samuelsson-Power tandem info based on this year? I recall seeing some good stuff visually backed up by data last year and a bit this year - some good xG%, some lower xGA than most pairs per Moneypuck.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Is that Samuelsson-Power tandem info based on this year? I recall seeing some good stuff visually backed up by data last year and a bit this year - some good xG%, some lower xGA than most pairs per Moneypuck.

You're right, I mistakenly added Samuelsson-Power. They've been good with limited minutes. For some reason they're reluctant to really put them together.

It's possible their deployment is soft? I don't have access to that level of data. But just strictly by the numbers they should be using Dahlin-Jokiharju (which they generally do) and Power-Samuelsson (who they generally don't).

Those would be two above average pairings 55%+ xG%

 

[sabremike]

Check his underlying metrics. He’s a bottom quintile defenseman even on an elite team.

He’s a Sabre now, so I can only hope he stays healthy and makes me look stupid, but I’m not super optimistic between his flagging development and the apparent lack of roster fit.

Why would any sane organization trade for a guy whose game has totally gone to shit playing on one of the best teams in the entire sport after multiple concussions? Why other than magic will he come to a team with a far worse roster and turn his career around? Why would you trade a developed forward whose figured it all out at a time nobody on the roster can score goals to add a reclamation project who is redundant to what you already have? Why would a team that's gone to shit in large part because they are too young go out and get even younger and less experienced? Why is the worst coaching staff in the league going to get this kid to put it together when one of the best couldn't do anything to stop his game from falling off a cliff?

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Dahlin-Samuelsson was the team's best pair last season. Samuelsson struggled a bit this year.

I'm not sure that's true, they're a 50% xG% Dahlin is 55% with Jokiharju and 53% with Power this year.

Last year Dahlin-Samuelsson were 49.4%, 58% with Jokiharju 50.7% with Power

Why would any sane organization trade for a guy whose game has totally gone to shit playing on one of the best teams in the entire sport after multiple concussions? Why other than magic will he come to a team with a far worse roster and turn his career around? Why would you trade a developed forward whose figured it all out at a time nobody on the roster can score goals to add a reclamation project who is redundant to what you already have? Why would a team that's gone to shit in large part because they are too young go out and get even younger and less experienced? Why is the worst coaching staff in the league going to get this kid to put it together when one of the best couldn't do anything to stop his game from falling off a cliff?

He's 22, it's not unfathomable that this isn't all he'll ever be.

 

[Dingo44]

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Keeping him wasn't an either or situation. Some of them can play wing at times and there is always injuries. Personally, I'd keep my center depth and my best players. Good teams keep their best players and work out the cap in other ways.

Anyways, we have Byram now and he is extremely talented. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

The issue is that the Sabres are deep on forward prospects, but the D remains somewhat thin. We needed to trade a forward for D, and clearly, Buffalo wanted someone further down the development pipeline, which means they had to give something up. You have to give to get. Letting Casey go for picks would suck but we got someone comparable who plays D.

I got a USD$260 Will Butcher Sabres jersey in the store for $25 a couple of years back. I am a nameplate away from a very good investment.