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Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson talks 2026 NHL Draft options after the draft lottery
The Blackhawks won the fourth overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft after the NHL Draft lottery. General manager Kyle Davison discussed the team's options in a press conference.
The Chicago Blackhawks said they'd entertain talks for the No. 4 overall selection in the NHL Draft.
Those talks came to a head on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks are sending that top-five pick to the Buffalo Sabres in a move that brings an established NHL player to Chicago. The Blackhawks announced the move on Tuesday evening.
Here's what it means for the team.
Full trade details
Blackhawks receive
- Defenseman Bowen Byram
- Forward Jordan Greenway
Sabres receive
- No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
- No. 45 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
- Defenseman Louis Crevier
By the numbers:
Byram is just 25-years-old. He'll join a Blackhawks team that's young, but he's an experienced player that brings a two-way touch to the Blackhawks' locker room.
Byram is also coming off a career year. He scored 11 goals, dished 31 assists, and recorded 42 points in the 2025-2026 season.
For some perspective, those 42 points would have ranked third on the Blackhawks in the 2025-2026 season behind Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi.
Jordan Greenway comes in the trade, too. He recorded six points with one goal and five assists in 40 games with the Sabres last season.
Big picture view:
This move means the Blackhawks are making a statement.
Byram has one year left on a contract that will pay him $6.25 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent next year, but it stands to reason the Blackhawks would extend that contract and pay him like the team's best blue-liner.
But, it means a bit more in the grand scheme of things.
For three-straight years, the Blackhawks have had one of the three worst records in the NHL. This is a move that signals the Blackhawks are putting their foot down.
Adding a two-way defenseman will help Connor Bedard. That's what the Blackhawks have needed to do for years. Adding a defenseman that will help the offense will, by default, help Bedard.
But, Byram brings more than skill. He brings a winning acumen.
In 2022, Byram played for the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup with Byram. He knows how to win, and he'll help teach the Blackhawks how to win.
Crevier was a talented player. The Blackhawks grew him at home at the United Center. He was arguably the team's best defenseman last season.
But, he heads to Buffalo. It's the price the Blackhawks have to pay in order to pull themselves out of the NHL basement, and further the rebuild.
It also creates an expectation for Kyle Davidson. In trading this pick for a talented NHL, the Blackhawks don't just want to finish better than the second-to-last record in the NHL.
They need to finish better than that.