Moments after I posted yesterday's musings about the Blackhawks and their lack of trades (and the potential for a lackluster draft), they go ahead and do this shit:
FULL TRADE: #Blackhawks acquire Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from #Sabres for the 4th overall pick in the 2026 draft, the 45th overall pick (NYI 2nd), and Louis Crevier (per @frank_seravalli)
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) June 24, 2026
So it looks like there isn't going to be a top-five pick this year and certainly not one involved in a trade that got Connor Bedard a top-six winger. That's still the Hawks biggest need this offseason. And yes, the Hawks could still theoretically grab that (although I don't see that happening, especially since they seem high on Roman Kantserov). Why not have both? Settle for the high-end defenseman prospect from the draft, go find yourself the top-six winger, GM.
Bowen Byram makes the Blackhawks blue line better. But the price to get him was steep. The No. 4 pick, a second rounder, and Louis Crevier. And if you've read my other Hawks articles, you know how I feel about Crevier.
Byram is also a free-agent with a contract that expires next year. The real twist in the gonads isn't that he could wait out the year and head off into free agency, it's that he can ask Kyle Davidson to pay him No. 1 defenseman money, which is north of $10 mil. He'll get to do this before he's even proved to the Hawks that he can be that guy. And by most pundits, it's unlikely that he is.
So, what gives? Is the Hawks defenseman pipeline not as good enough as Davidson believed?
Like all (or most) Hawks fans, I hope I'm proven wrong and that this actually pans out. Otherwise, this is a serious mark against Davidson amongst a growing list of serious concerns.
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