Does Bo Byram’s new contract make him more – or less – tradable?

Last Monday, the Buffalo Sabres re-signed defenseman Bowen Byram to a two-year contract. The deal will carry a $6.25 million annual average value (AAV) through the 2026-27 season.

The contract comes a little over a week after the Sabres reportedly filed for team-elected arbitration for the pending restricted free agent. Byram had just finished his latest two-year contract, which was considered a bridge deal with a cap hit of $3.85 million. There were some rumors that the Sabres were exploring moving the young blueliner’s signing rights for assets.

Now with Byram locked up for the next two seasons, some are wondering if the Sabres may be more inclined to trade him, now that he’s locked up for the foreseeable future.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Jonny Lazarus discuss Byram’s deal and if there’s a market for the 24-year-old defender.

Tyler Yaremchuk: They cut out all the crap and agreed to a two-year deal. I’ll be honest Jonny, my take is that I don’t think this closes the door on the Sabres still trading him this summer. If I’m another team, I’m sitting there thinking, “Now I know what he’s making, I can trade for him right now and not run the risk of the arbitration number being something I’m uncomfortable with.”

I’m not closing the door on him being moved out of Buffalo this summer. Are you?

Jonny Lazarus: I just think this makes him a little less tradable, just because he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in two year, so you know that if you do trade for him, he’ll end up walking to see what the market is like in two years.

I’m very high on Byram, I love watching him play, and I really wanted him in New York for the Rangers.

But again, we’re talking about a 24-year-old guy who has played five years in the NHL, and only one 82-game season, and I think his career high is 38 points. It’s not like he’s a 50- or 60-point defenseman yet. The number got as high as $10 million that we were hearing this summer.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…