Takeaways From Blackhawks’ GM Davidson on Byram Trade – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks sent the NHL world ablaze when they made a trade that sent the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, defenseman Louis Crevier, and a 2026 second-round pick in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway.

General manager Kyle Davidson spoke to the media on June 24 to discuss everything behind the blockbuster deal.

Here are some takeaways.

Objectives for the Byram Trade

The Blackhawks paid a steep price to acquire Byram, but in Davidson’s eyes, he did what he had to do.

He noted they were “capitalizing on a young player that was available that just doesn’t come available very often in the league,” and explained that, in the current market, with players maybe not as available as they once were, prices go up.

Some of the objectives that came into play:

• Someone who can help immediately
• Someone who supports their team philosophy- “Now, the way we want to play and how we want to build this team, it starts from the back end out. We want to have an elite defense…”
• Someone who was young enough to grow with the team.

Davidson said, “Well, I think it… checks a lot of different boxes here. The one is that it just provides us with a proven legitimate top of the lineup defenseman that we feel can play every situation, step in and be an offensive play driver for us, run the power play, but also provide a player that can play the left and right side, which we believe provides better development opportunities for some of our young defensemen, and it helps to give the coaches options at the top of the defensive lineup to allow maybe easier assignments for some of these young players trying to break into the league and develop within the NHL, and you know you can manipulate the roster in the lineup night-to-night based on on the needs required, much like Blash (Jeff Blashill) did last year with the seventh defenseman.

“This gives us another option to slide an elite, young defenseman back and forth based on need, and so I think it provides the ability for some of these much younger players.”

“Bo is very young himself in the NHL, but you know, provides those even younger players an opportunity, much like Bo received from guys like Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin… our young players like Sam Rinzel and Arty Levshunov are going to be able to sit in behind Bo and learn from him, and see how he operates and how he runs a power play, and how he can transport that puck up ice and just learn from a really good defenseman that’s been through the rigors of a playoff run, a championship with Colorado, another run with with Buffalo, and I think has invaluable experience that he can provide down the lineup to our younger defensemen as they grow into what he’s become at this point in his career.”

The Bedard Factor

The part of the trade that raised questions was whether the fourth overall pick could have been used to get a scorer to go alongside Connor Bedard instead.

Davidson noted his confidence in the players the team has. While also noting they aren’t done searching, but more so that nothing materialized for a trade… yet.

“…The players we’ve got internally, we feel have great utility and great upside to them, and so we’re very comfortable in utilizing them. I truly believe that Connor believes in those players, as well. Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t stop trying to get better, and we don’t stop trying to find options and enhance our group. We certainly do, and we certainly will, but to this point, that just hasn’t materialized, and so if we’re going with some of the internal options, then we’re very comfortable with that, and we believe in those players. We believe in our young players wholeheartedly, and that doesn’t mean, like I said, that there aren’t things you explore externally, which we will. We will continue to do so.

But right now, as we stand, we’re very happy and excited about what we’ve got coming back from our group, or entering the group, in Roman’s (Kantserov) case, because we feel there’s elite offensive upside there, and the ability to play with someone of Connor’s caliber, and we’ll keep working at it. But as we stand right now, we are happy with the group, but not satisfied, ever, in terms of trying to improve the team.”

We’ll see if anything comes on offense for the rest of the summer. Whether that is through a trade or offer sheets.

What about Crevier?

25-year-old defenseman Louis Crevier was a tough one to see go in the Byram trade, considering that the seventh-round pick developed into a big part of the Blackhawks defense last season.

Davidson seemingly didn’t love having to include Crevier as part of the return. But talked about the business side of giving to get.

“I don’t necessarily look at his giving him away. You know, it’s part of the transaction and part of the give-and-take in getting a deal done. And so, unfortunately, you’ve got to give to get, and that was part of the give. We’re really proud of the progress Louis made in his time here, and you know, he started as a seventh-round pick and worked his way into the NHL and established himself last year, and obviously that was noticed around the league.

“But in our estimation, we had to provide something of value, and obviously, Buffalo saw it that way, too, and that’s how a transaction occurs. You don’t feel 100 percent comfortable giving up every piece, but you know what? That’s how these things work. And you know what, in our mind it was, ‘What do we need to do to get Bo?’, and that’s what it was… We did so, and move forward with confidence.”

No Apologies On The Blackhawks End

The Blackhawks know that the Byram trade was huge, but they love and see the potential. They know the noise surrounding it, and they’re standing behind it.

“…At some point, there are players that are available to you, and some that are just not, and a lot of those things are sometimes out of your control, and you’ve got to determine when to strike, when to be patient, and in this case, when Bo became available, and we were considering our options, we wanted to be aggressive and decisive, and we thought that we did that. We executed, and we brought in a player that we believe is an elite, young talent into our group, and I don’t think we’re going to apologize for that.

“We’ve made our team better, without question, and we believe we’ve enhanced and increased not only the floor but our ceiling on our group moving forward. And so, we thought it was a very worthwhile pursuit, and looking forward, we still have great assets within our organization to assist in adding to other parts of the lineup. But as we sit here today, I truly believe that we’ve got elite young pieces at every position and every group, you know, in net, on the back end, and up front. So, we feel we’re in a very, very strong position with assets outstanding to continue to assess what’s available and what the options are moving forward. So, I don’t think it’s anything that we certainly wish we did differently.

“We’re extremely excited today to acquire Bo, and believe he fits our group extremely, extremely well.”

Turning Words Into Actions

Davidson talked about having to put their “money where our mouth is” when discussing contract negotiations with Byram (who is eligible for an extension July 1), while also explaining, “We’re okay paying great players, and if there’s an opportunity to acquire and retain a player that we believe is elite and a star, then we will do so, and we won’t blink in doing it.”

Davidson has talked before about wanting the team to progress, but over the past couple of years, many of their moves felt more like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg than an actual solution, as they focused on player development.

This trade is forcing Davidson to talk the talk and walk the walk. Scott Powers of The Athletic reported at the scouting combine that he was looking to be more aggressive. (from ‘Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says he’s motivated to make a major offseason move’- The Athletic – (06/05/2026).

Byram and Greenway certainly made for an aggressive move. Davidson said he and the team want to improve; this trade could. He said they are okay with paying great players. This will be something to keep an eye on as their players develop, and it’s also a foreshadowing of Bedard’s contract. Byram will also likely be extended this summer, as he said it was a priority.

We don’t know how his decisions will pan out. As with any trade, questions remain. But Davidson seems ready to practice what he’s preaching.

Unapologetically.