We’re now a week into June, and the further we get into the summer, the more the rumours continue to fly around about the Vancouver Canucks and their offseason intentions.

Most of the speculation is straightforward enough. Anything involving the Canucks targeting a top-six forward, for example, is pretty self-explanatory. But there is one name that continues to come up that – on the surface, anyway – seems to not make a lot of sense.

That name is Bowen Byram.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with Byram as an NHL player. In fact, there’s a lot to like. The left-shooting defender from Cranbrook, BC is still just 23 years old, though he’ll turn 24 a week from now. He’s already completed five seasons in the NHL, and this most recent one was easily his best. Playing in his first full campaign with the Buffalo Sabres, Byram notched 38 points through 82 games in 2024/25, and continued to round out his defensive game.

But that’s just Byram, in general. Byram as a Vancouver Canucks trade target? That’s a little harder to wrap one’s head around.

Rick Dhaliwal has been reporting on the Canucks’ interest in Byram ever since Byram was a member of the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. That continued into Byram’s days with the Colorado Avalanche, and then it surfaced with the most sincerity after he landed in Buffalo. That was around the same time that a ton of Elias Pettersson trade chatter was flying around, and there was talk of a deal between the Canucks and Sabres that could have involved Byram.

But things have changed since then, especially as it pertains to the Canucks’ own blueline. Last season, the left side of the Canucks’ blueline included Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy, and two pending UFAs in Nikita Zadorov and Ian Cole. That’s a set of D that could really benefit from the addition of Byram.

But in the present day, the left side of the Canucks’ blueline includes Hughes, Marcus Pettersson, the younger Elias Pettersson, and, as of this week, an extended Derek Forbort. If anything, it’s a little overstuffed. At the very least, it no longer looks like an area of any priority for the Canucks, especially as they attempt to improve the rest of their roster with a set of very limited tradable assets.

And yet…

Talk of Byram persists into the Summer of 2025, from Dhaliwal and other sources. It picked up a bit again in May, when Byram switched agency representation – something that is often a sign of a player seeking a change in their playing circumstances.

We’re not here to call anyone’s rumour-milling into question. And on that front, it might be most interesting to not simply wonder if the rumours of the Canucks’ continued interest are true, but what it might mean if they’re true.

The most tempting thought-path to go down here is one involving the senior Elias Pettersson. Rumours continue to persist that the Canucks are exploring his trade value ahead of July 1, when his full no-movement clauses kicks in.

One has to imagine that, if Pettersson’s name is still out there, the Sabres still have interest. And, from a pure value perspective, Byram is definitely one of the best pieces they could afford to give up in return. We imagine that the offer might look like Byram (a pending RFA, it should be said) and a forward of equal-ish value, like say a Josh Norris type. That matches well enough with the previous rumours of Byram and Dylan Cozens being the centrepieces of a Pettersson trade.

Asset-wise, that might be one of the better returns the Canucks could expect for Pettersson. But it still doesn’t make a ton of sense without some other trade coming down the pike. The Canucks aren’t going to head into 2025/26 with a left side of Hughes, Byram, Pettersson, Pettersson, and Forbort, even if a few of them can play on their off-sides.

No, the addition of Byram would almost certainly require the moving out of at least one other LD. But that notion just raises more questions – primarily, one of whom?

Marcus Pettersson just arrived and extended for six years, with a full NMC in the first three. Forbort is too small of a fish. And while the younger Elias Pettersson would be one of the Canucks’ best possible trade chips in their search for improvements to their forward corps, most in the fanbase would be absolutely devastated if he were traded after making such a strong impression as a rookie last year.

We suppose there is a possibility of EP25 being traded for a top-six forward of some sort, and then Byram being brought in as a replacement. But even then, a left side of Hughes, M. Pettersson, and then Byram would be a little overloaded and a lot over-expensive. Moving forward, Elias Pettersson’s ELC holds immense value.

Now, we do hate to bring this last point up. But by far the biggest ‘flex-point’ when it comes to the future of the Canucks’ roster is the eventual free agency status of Hughes. It’s so well-discussed by now that it almost doesn’t need mentioning that he has two years left on his current contract, and one year left until he can start talking extension with the Canucks – or not.

In a world where the Canucks already had some indication that Hughes was unlikely to sign, well, then some interest in Byram would make a lot of sense. There’d have to be a few moving parts, as we’re pretty sure Hughes would have little interest in becoming a long-term Sabre (who does, if they can avoid it?), and we all know what his actual preferred destination is. Were Hughes to be dealt before his contract is up, presumably for an enormous return, some of that return could definitely be put toward the acquisition of Byram. And, no, we’re not suggesting that Byram approximates anything close to a ‘Hughes replacement.’ But at the age of 24, he would be a sensible piece to add to a post-Hughes rebuild, or even a retool of sorts.

But, hey, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find any Canucks supporters hoping for this outcome. A future without Hughes is a worst-case scenario, and with all due respect to Byram, he does little to alleviate that. It’s probably best to hope that any Byram-related rumours are misstated, or based more on his place of birth than the Canucks’ actual interest in him.

From where we’re sitting, any genuine interest in Byram at this point probably means that something is moving in an unfortunate direction elsewhere on the roster.