Pay Bowen Byram Now Before It’s Too Late
It’s truly unbelievable. You’re all late with the Cale Makar takes. All of you. I tried to tell you he’s the best defenseman the NHL has ever seen. Now everybody and your mom knows who he is. I’ll stake my claim again here. I’m not saying Bowen Byram is a man rocket like Makar, but he’s a total stud and extending him should be very high on Joe Sakic’s to do list.
What does the Chinese farmer say? He says maybe. Hey, maybe these concussion issues were a great thing for the Avalanche. If they didn’t happen, maybe Byram already proves how good he is and there is good no chance Colorado has the cap space to keep him long term. With the concussion history, Colorado has an opportunity here to sign Byram to a fair team friendly deal. The casual hockey fan doesn’t know who Byram is yet but this dude is about to blow up.
Sign the kid now before it’s too late. That’s all I will say. It was a difficult year to evaluate for Byram. He didn’t play much in the regular season because of the head injuries. However, with Sam Girard hurt in the middle of the playoffs, Byram had to be THAT guy for the Avalanche to finish the job. Especially with shaky options in net. I was screaming it from the clouds during the episode I did with Andrew.
Byram can play. Oh, he more than can play. If your eyeballs couldn’t pick up on how talented Byram is, here’s a little chart that might help you out to describe his performance in the Cup Finals.
Offensively, Byram is already a stud. His career 54.2 Corsi% is damn good. Byram is so good at just skating in general for defensemen. Almost a way bigger version than Girard. I wouldn’t say the defense is elite but he moves so well he’s usually in a position to affect the play.
Byram, 21, is still a young pup. Colorado picked him 4th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s not close to done getting better. Frankly, he probably deserves more of an opportunity. Doesn’t it feel like now is the time to sell high on Girard while you hand over that second power play role to Byram?
You have to be early, not late on this stuff. We can go over all the micro stats about how good Byram is with zone entries and all that jazz. The bottom line is, if you can’t see the talent, that’s a you problem. What are we really questioning here with Byram? Head injuries? Tell you what, if he didn’t have those Colorado would never be in a position to afford him so get a deal done now.
Byram’s rookie contract will expire after next season. If they don’t get a deal done now he will get plucked by an offer sheet. It remains to be seen what the Avalanche cap sheet looks like given the amount of impending free agents on the roster. However, signing Byram to a deal in the $5 million AAV range would be an absolute steal. Plus, are we sure Girard isn’t the more concerning medical guy on the roster?
Who’s to say Girard will age well? He had a fire postseason but this is clearly a sell high spot. Smaller guy that’s a civ defensively and needs to be paired with the right guy next to him. Byram is a much bigger body and frankly is way more talented as a two way player.
Joe Sakic is a smart guy that normally does the right thing (Darcy Kuemper excluded). Getting a deal done now by Byram will save a lot of future headaches. You don’t have to listen to me but if we learned anything from these Stanley Cup Finals, it’s that Bowen Bryam is a damn stud. If you’re just figuring out who Cale Makar is, remember your late. Try being early. It makes you look smarter.
