While most of the NHL's free agency commotion is behind us, some players are still ironing out the logistics of their contracts.
The Buffalo Sabres have elected for salary arbitration with defenceman Bowen Byram, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
Teams had until 5 p.m. ET on Sunday to make a decision on arbitration-eligible players, and the deadline for a player-initiated hearing was Saturday, with 11 players opting for an outside perspective.
Since the team took the player to arbitration, the player will choose the term of the award and cannot sign an offer sheet, Friedman noted in a post on X.
The hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4., but teams are permitted to continue negotiations before an official proceeding, per CapFriendly. The NHL is one of only two major North American sports leagues to deploy an arbitration system, alongside the MLB.
The Mammoth had originally elected salary arbitration with Jack McBain, but the centre agreed to a five-year, $21.25 million contract later on Monday.
Byram, 24, was the Colorado Avalanche's fourth-overall pick in 2019 and has posted 110 points (33 goals, 77 assists) from the blueline in 246 career games. He was acquired by the Sabres in March of 2024 for forward Casey Mittelstadt.
Here is a full list of the 12 players bound for salary arbitration.
Player elected:
Morgan Barron (Winnipeg Jets)
Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks)
Drew Helleson (Anaheim Ducks)
Kaapo Kakko (Seattle Kraken)
Nicholas Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets)
Arvid Soderblom (Chicago Blackhawks)
Jayden Struble (Montreal Canadiens)
Conor Timmins (Buffalo Sabres)
Maksim Tsyplakov (New York Islanders)
Gabriel Vilardi (Winnipeg Jets)
Team elected:
Bowen Byram (Buffalo Sabres)
