Chicago’s front office just reminded Kent Hughes why he may be the league’s top general manager right now.
The Blackhawks acquired Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenaway on Monday night by trading the fourth and 45th overall picks, as well as defenseman Louis Crevier.
At 6’8″, Crevier recorded 25 points the previous season. The fourth overall choice. Forty-fifth overall. For a 25-year-old defense player whose deal ends next summer, that is a high price.
In contrast, Hughes gave Noah Dobson the 16th and 17th choices in addition to Emil Heineman a year ago.
Eric Engels pointed out on Monday that Dobson had scored 70 points the season prior to the trade. Last year, Byram had a personal best of 42.
Byram vs. Dobson: Everything is explained by the statistics.
Twenty-six-year-old Dobson. He is now committed to the Canadiens’ defensive line for $9.5 million. That transaction appears pricey until you consider what Hughes gave up to acquire him.
A top-five selection was forfeited by Chicago. Alone. for a player who had a shorter leash than Dobson ever did.
With 42 points in 82 games during the regular season, Byram has a $6.25 million cap penalty. Those figures are strong. They are not that dependable.
And this is the component that ought to cause genuine discomfort among Blackhawks supporters: next summer, that cap number will disappear. For a one-year deal that will cost far more next summer, Kyle Davidson basically gave up Chicago’s most valuable asset in this draft.
Consider this: In a market that was getting bigger, Hughes bought a house. Davidson leased one for a year at peak rates and gave up his savings to do so.
Last year, the Habs traded Emil Heineman, 16, and 17 for Noah Dobson, a 25-year-old big, right-handed defenseman who had previously had a 70-point season.
The Hawks traded Louis Crevier (a 6-foot-8 RHD with 25 points this season) and the 4th and 45th overall selections for 25-year-old Bowen Byram (who had a career-high 42 points this season) and Jordan Greenaway.
I’m curious as to how that agreement will seem (Byram’s existing contract expires next summer and may be discussed after July 1st.)”
– Eric Engels
47 points in 80 games was Dobson’s regular season performance in Montreal. His playoff performance went poorly, scoring just one point in 13 games, and the criticism was justified. However, he has signed. He’s trapped. He is a full-time member of a team that finished sixth overall with a 48-24-10 record.
Byram scored 7 points in 13 playoff games for Chicago despite playing on a team that placed 31st in the league with a record of 29-39-14.
On a poor squad, one player made it to the playoffs. On a good one, the other suffered in the playoffs. Neither tale is complete.
The price isn’t the only thing that makes Hughes seem brilliant here. It is the context of the market. Before the 70-point player had a poor season that dropped his value, Hughes finalized his agreement when Dobson’s value was at its maximum.
In a market where every GM in the league fully understands the value of a left-shot defenseman in his mid-twenties, Davidson made his move this week.
There’s still a chance that the Byram agreement will succeed. A complete season in Chicago’s system under Jeff Blashill may open up something since he’s young and can skate. But the Blackhawks are still rebuilding and are at the bottom of the league, and they now have one less pick in the lottery range to show for it.
The actual issue is what Byram’s following agreement would resemble. This trade shifts from risky to genuinely unpleasant if Kyle Davidson is unable to lock him up for an extended period of time.
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That isn’t a problem for Hughes. Already on the ice, already helping a squad that understands what it means to win, this man has already signed.
