The Buffalo Sabres are expecting big things from defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who signed a mammoth contract extension last year and was named team captain ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season.
He officially succeeds former Sabres forward Kyle Okposo, who was traded to the Florida Panthers at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
And thanks to his pair of assists during Tuesday night’s game against the division rival Ottawa Senators, Dahlin has officially etched himself into the team record books. He joins Phil Housley and Mike Ramsey as the only defensemen in team history to rack up at least 300 points wearing a Sabres uniform:
Hall-of-Fame defenseman Housley played eight seasons for the Sabres; he also later served as head coach of the team from 2017 to 2019. Meanwhile, Ramsey played 13.5 seasons with the Sabres before a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1992-93 season.
Rasmus Dahlin was named the captain of the Sabres
Selected with the first overall pick by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL Draft, Dahlin was named the 21st captain in team history ahead of the beginning of the current season. The move was the right one, according to Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff via NHL.com.
“He does everything right, first and foremost,” Ruff said. “His on-ice action has been incredible, and I think he’s a guy that leads in every category, from the way he prepares himself to the way he plays and the fact that he’s a guy who cares about winning hockey games.”
Meanwhile, his teammate and assistant captain Alex Tuch couldn’t say enough good things about Dahlin’s work ethic and commitment to the game.
“First and foremost, that guy is a gamechanger each and every night,” Tuch said. “His consistency on the compete factor has been incredible ever since I got into town, and I’ve seen it grow and just blossom into the player that he’s become. He’s an incredible player, but he’s also an incredible individual.
“To be able to go along into battle beside him has been a great honor, honestly, ever since I got in. And he’s raised my level of compete and he’s made me want to be a better player, and that’s what he does to each and every guy.”
In 448 career games, Dahlin has tallied 67 goals and 232 assists.
