NHL EDGE stats: Byram has breakout potential with Blackhawks

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at three underlying reasons Bowen Byram could break out after being acquired by the Chicago Blackhawks.

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EDGE STATS INSIGHTS 📊

Ovechkin returning

B. Tkachuk to FLA

Markstrom to FLA

Bobrovsky to TOR

McKenna to TOR

D. Raddysh to TOR

Dorofeyev to NYR

Tuch, Kyrou to WSH

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1. Skating speed

The Blackhawks acquired Byram from the Buffalo Sabres on June 23, providing them with a much-needed No. 1 defenseman option. Chicago then signed Byram to a six-year, $75 million contract ($12.5 million average annual value) on Wednesday. The new contract begins in 2027-28 and could make him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL. Byram, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 and helped the Sabres end their 14-season playoff drought, now will be a No. 1 defenseman for the first time in his career after playing behind Cale Makar in Colorado and Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo.

Last season, Byram ranked in the 96th percentile among defensemen in 20-plus mph speed bursts (107) and in the 91st percentile at the position in max skating speed (22.87 mph). Byram, who turned 25 years old June 13, adds to a young defenseman group featuring Artyom Levshunov (20), Alex Vlasic (25) and Sam Rinzel (22).

Those defensemen, together with a potent young forward core of Connor Bedard (No. 1 pick in 2023 NHL Draft), Anton Frondell (No. 3 pick in 2025 NHL Draft) and Frank Nazar (13th pick in 2022 NHL Draft), give Chicago a high ceiling in the seasons ahead but come with some growing pains during an ongoing rebuild. It's worth noting Bedard will miss the start of the 2026-27 season after having surgery on his left shoulder.

Byram, who was one of three Sabres defensemen with at least 30 points last season (joining Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson), brings much-needed experience and production to the Blackhawks, who were the only team in the NHL without a 30-point defenseman and had the fewest points at that position in the League (129). Last season, Chicago allowed the second-most shots on goal per game (30.0) and sixth-most goals per game (3.29).

Per NHL EDGE IQ, Chicago was tied for the fifth-fewest goals scored off the rush last season (74). Byram, meanwhile, scored four goals off the rush in the regular season (three) and playoffs (one) combined, the third most among Sabres defensemen in that category behind Dahlin (seven) and Samuelsson (five).

2. Shots by location

During the 2026 postseason, Byram led NHL defensemen in midrange goals (three) despite only playing in two of the four playoff rounds. Byram also was tied for second among NHL defensemen in goals overall (four) behind Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights (six).

Last regular season, Byram also was playing mostly on the second pair and ranked highly in four different key advanced shot metrics:

• High-danger shots on goal: 14 (95th percentile)
• High-danger goals: 3 (92nd percentile)
• Midrange shots on goal: 30 (88th percentile)
• Midrange goals: 6 (94th percentile)

Byram was also a standout in high-danger shots on goal two seasons ago (2024-25), ranking in the 96th percentile among defensemen.

3. Long-awaited first power-play role

Although Levshunov, Rinzel and Vlasic have shown signs of promise in the NHL, none of those defensemen seized the Blackhawks’ first power-play role last season. Chicago was tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fewest power-play goals scored by defensemen last season (one each). Byram, who’s coming off his most power-play points in a single season (seven) while playing mostly on the second unit, has untapped potential if given an extended role on the primary unit -- especially once Bedard returns from injury.

The Blackhawks ranked fourth worst in the NHL in power-play percentage last season (16.9 percent), and Byram had a strong postseason showing in terms of offensive zone time percentage (45.7 percent; 90th percentile among defensemen) for the Sabres. Byram was a workhorse last season, ranking among the NHL defenseman leaders in skating distance at both even strength (230.56 miles; 97th percentile) and all strengths (263.93 miles; 94th percentile), showing he could translate well to an expanded power-play role. Byram has scored double-digit goals twice so far in his NHL career, but his career high in points (42 last season) has been limited by his secondary role and injuries during his time with the Avalanche.

That said, Chicago is in the midst of a six-season playoff drought and finished with the second-fewest standings points last year (72; 29-39-14). Although Byram could be a part of the solution for Chicago playing in front of promising goalie Spencer Knight (.847 high-danger save percentage; sixth in NHL), Byram had a minus-17 shot attempts differential at 5-on-5 last regular season with Buffalo. The Blackhawks, as a team, had the third-worst 5-on-5 SAT differential (minus-591) last season, meaning they still could face an uphill battle as the youngest team in the NHL (average age of 25.29 years).