BUFFALO – Bowen Byram’s first game here as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks will have to wait until next season.
Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Byram, 25, is attending to a personal matter and will miss tonight’s game against the Sabres at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres traded Byram, who wanted an opportunity to become a No. 1 defenseman, to Chicago on June 23 in a blockbuster deal that brought the fourth overall pick and defenseman Louis Crevier here.
The teams meet again Nov. 12 in Chicago.
At least one former Sabres player, winger Jordan Greenway, is expected to play tonight.
Greenway, the other asset sent to Chicago in the Byram deal, played 158 games for the Sabres over parts of four seasons.
“You’re leaving a group of guys, we did a lot of good things last year,” Greenway said of the Sabres’ 109-point season. “So at first, it sucks. At the same time, it’s a new chapter. I play hockey here now. It’s the same damn thing, just somewhere else.”
After undergoing two sports hernia surgeries and experiencing what he has called “terrible pain,” Greenway found a rehab last season that alleviated his discomfort.
The Canton native enjoyed regular duty down the stretch into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, contributing on a checking line and on the penalty kill.
“Very rewarding,” he said of the final months of the season. “Dealt with some stuff, obviously, over last two years, and being able to go out there and perform like I did, perform like we did throughout the playoffs was unbelievable.”
In other news, Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start tonight’s home opener. The Finn played in Thursday’s 6-3 season-opening loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Olen Zellweger is expected to make his debut with the Sabres tonight after suffering a concussion in the preseason, so a defenseman who played in the opener will likely be scratched.