Blackhawks just made Canadiens trade involving Noah Dobson look like a steal

Montreal did the same deal a year ago for less.

When the Montreal Canadiens sent picks 16 and 17 plus Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders for Noah Dobson last June, the reaction was skeptical.

When the Chicago Blackhawks sent the 4th overall pick, 45th overall, and Louis Crevier to the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway this week - confirmed by Frank Seravalli - the reaction was louder.

The comparison is worth slowing down on. Dobson had posted 70 points the season before his trade, while Byram's career high was 42 this past year - and Byram carries just $6.25 million through next summer only.

That one remaining contract year is what this story has barely touched. Byram's deal becomes extension-eligible July 1.

With Dobson at $9.5 million now serving as the market comp for a 25-year-old puck-moving defenseman, Kyle Davidson handed over a top-four pick for a player whose next deal could hit $8 or $9 million annually.

The 4th overall is the down payment - the extension is the mortgage.

That full cost won't be visible until Byram signs, and the Dobson deal just set the ceiling his extension will bump against.

Kent Hughes moved before the market understood what this type of player costs. He paid in mid-lottery picks and a bottom-six forward.

Davidson paid in a top-five pick on a team that has missed the playoffs six straight years and still has Connor Bedard waiting for results.

Byram is a legitimate top-four player with Stanley Cup experience and real upside.

But the verdict on this trade won't arrive when the picks are announced Friday. It arrives the moment Byram's extension hits the wire.