This might just be one of the wildest days for trades around the National Hockey League in recent memory.

First, we saw the Calgary Flames acquire Simon Nemec from the New Jersey Devils, followed by the San Jose Sharks shipping William Eklund to the Ottawa Senators for the ninth overall pick in Friday’s draft. Shortly after, the Washington Capitals acquired Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues for Connor McMichael and the 16th overall pick.

And now, a few hours later, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that talks have intensified between the Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks involving defenceman Bowen Byram.

Trade details were released shortly, per NHL insider Frank Seravalli. Along with Byram, the Blackhawks receive forward Jordan Greenway in exchange for the fourth overall pick, the 45th overall pick (second-round) and defenceman Louis Crevier.

Byram, 25, has spent the previous two and a quarter seasons with the Sabres after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche for Casey Mittlestadt. After suffering through injuries throughout most of his time in Colorado, Byram put together back-to-back 82-game seasons in Buffalo, scoring 18 goals and 62 assists for 80 points in 164 games.

The Cranbrook, BC native has one year remaining on his $6.25 million AAV contract. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Byram is happy to join the Blackhawks. He was looking for a bigger role with a team. Dreger expects to get an extension when he becomes extension-eligible on July 1.

After being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Sabres held only the 27th overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft. Fast forward to draft week: the Sabres now hold the fourth overall pick and the 20th overall pick after just claiming their first Atlantic Division title in franchise history. They moved up from 27 to 20 in a trade with the Sharks, attaching right-shot defenceman Michael Kesselring to do so.

EliteProspects’ Cam Robinson expects the Sabres to hold onto that fourth overall pick and target a centre.