BUFFALO, N.Y. — Saturday marks the end of an early trip down memory lane for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Not so much for the team but rather Cole Smith (Vegas), Ian Cole (Utah) and both Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway. The former Buffalo Sabres pair, who joined the Hawks via a June 23 trade, intended to make their return to KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Greenway was in the lineup, but Byram was absent attending to a family matter. Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro replaced him.
“It’ll be good to see some of the people in the organization, but I mean, call a spade a spade, we’re going there to play a game,” Greenway said Wednesday.
It’s also a homecoming for Patrick Kane. The veteran Hawks wing hails from Buffalo and considered signing with the Sabres before he ultimately rejoined the team that drafted him in 2007.
“I think the cat was kind of out of the bag, but it was pretty much down to Chicago and Buffalo,” Kane said on July 24. “I felt like (when) the decision was going to be coming back to Chicago, (I) was excited about that opportunity.”
It will be the third straight home opener for the road-tested Hawks, who are looking for their first win of the early season. They lost their opener to the Golden Knights 5-2 on Tuesday, then were embarrassed in a 6-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Last season’s Sabres were one of the best teams in franchise history, winning 50 games for just the third time and ending a 14-year postseason drought. They fell to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in seven games.
“I felt like I had a pretty good playoffs,” Byram said. “I had a little bit of a stretch in the Montreal series in the middle of the series where I wasn’t playing as well but I managed to get back to my game later in the series.”
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Added Kane on Saturday: “From the outside, I’m always rooting for the city, whether it’s the Bills or even the Sabres last year in the playoffs. They had a great run, win a playoff round and probably should have won the second round too. So that was a great run for them, (I’m) always cheering them on.”
Things appeared bleak for the Sabres early last season after an 11-14-4 start, but they won 10 straight en route to a 50-23-9 record. Much like the Sabres last season, the Hawks are hoping to leap into contention in 2026-27 after missing the playoffs for six straight years and eight of nine.
“That’s definitely what we want to happen,” Byram said. “Making it happen is a lot harder than talking and saying words and saying that you want to do it, you got to go out and do it.
“I do see similarities in our team and in Buffalo. I think a lot of times with younger teams and whatnot, it takes a little bit to get going, find your groove, find your confidence as a team. We’re just trying to take steps in the right direction.”
Byram has been skating on the top pair with Alex Vlasic and has quarterbacked the top power-play unit for the Hawks. He had a hat trick in the preseason debut with his new team.
The regular-season opener may have been a reality check for the 24-year-old. The Golden Knights cruised past Byram — who had zero points and a minus-2 rating — and the Hawks defense.
“(I) wasn’t really too nervous, just excited to get out there and play,” Byram said postgame. “I feel like it took a couple periods for the team to kind of get on the same page. We’ll watch it and definitely try to improve on the things we did wrong.”
Byram’s Game 2 didn’t look much better: His pair allowed multiple scoring chances in Salt Lake City.
The fourth line has been the Hawks’ best so far, highlighted by Greenway scoring the team’s first goal of the season. Paired with Ryan Greene and Cole Smith, the three have been as physical as coach Jeff Blashill had hoped.
“(Smith’s) unreal on the forecheck, does a lot of good things, knows how to play the game (and) you know what you’re getting from him,” Greenway said. “(Greene), he skates great, fits in with us pretty well (and) he’s great with the puck.”
Blackhawks left wing Jordan Greenway reaches for the puck against the Wild in a preseason game Sept. 21, 2026, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)Greenway came to the Hawks in the Byram trade in June. The Sabres received the Nos. 4 and 45 picks in the 2026 draft and Louis Crevier, who signed a four-year, $16 million extension Thursday.
“It’s nice when you know somebody coming into an organization, but these guys, man, they’ve been so welcoming,” Greenway said. “The team, the staff, everyone, they’ve been unbelievable. It’s a pretty easy group to kind of come into.”
He agrees with Byram about the similarities between last year’s Sabres and this year’s Hawks.
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“Our goal is definitely to do what we can to be in the playoffs at the end of the regular season — that was the case in Buffalo and we were able to do it,” Greenway said. “We got a great young pool of talent, and once we can find a way to put it all together and play as you know one unit, we’ll be good.”