When Rasmus Dahlin signed an eight-year extension worth $11 million per year prior to the start of last season, he became the highest paid player in Buffalo Sabres franchise history. General manager Kevyn Adams talked a lot about what made Dahlin special as a player, but he also raved about the person Dahlin is. Then an alternate captain, it was clear the Sabres were getting ready to make the young defenseman their leader of the future. On Thursday, while the team was continuing its training camp in Germany, new coach Lindy Ruff made it official announcing Dahlin was Buffalo’s captain.
Asked this week what has stood out about Dahlin as a person, Ruff said, “Probably his hunger for success. The fact that he wants this team to be a winner. He wants to be part of this team. Sometimes it’s easy to say, ‘I don’t want to be a part of it anymore.’ He wants this team to be successful and he wants to be the guy that helps lead.”
That last part is significant for a Sabres franchise that has missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons. Last season, captain Kyle Okposo asked to be traded at the NHL trading deadline so he could chase a Stanley Cup in the final season of his career. Before that, Jack Eichel was the captain and his Sabres career ended with a messy dispute with the team and a trade demand. The season before Eichel was named captain, the Sabres didn’t have a captain.
Why Dahlin is the logical choice
This franchise has been looking for stable leadership, and Dahlin has a chance to become that person. He’s Buffalo’s best player, having combined for 132 points the last two seasons while playing a heavy workload against opponents’ best players. But he’s also the Sabres’ most competitive player. He grew more comfortable, especially last season, calling out teammates behind closed doors when necessary. He was also the one who brought the team together. After signing his contract, Dahlin bought a bigger house in Buffalo and regularly used it to host team parties. He even had rookie Zach Benson live with him for the season after the 18-year-old made the NHL roster. Over the summer, Dahlin gathered teammates for a player-led camp in Switzerland. He’s always been a leader by example but has managed to grow into vocal leadership as well.
“He’s got fire,” Ruff said.
Dahlin won’t have to lead on his own, though. Ruff also announced that Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson will serve as alternate captains on a rotating basis. Dahlin has a tendency to try to put the weight of the team on his shoulders, especially when things aren’t going well. Ruff doesn’t want that to continue.
“His teammates have to step up,” Ruff said. “You talk about that group we just talked about, that’s the group that needs to step up and say, ‘It’s not on you, it’s on us.’ This is an us thing. It’s not fair that he wants to carry the weight on his shoulders. Let’s divvy up that weight and split it amongst ourselves including the coaching staff and make sure it’s a we thing when things are good and it’s a we thing when maybe you lose a couple.”
When the Sabres traded Okposo, they wanted to wait to name a captain. They didn’t do it over the summer because Adams wanted Ruff to get on the ice with the players and see who his leaders were. Dahlin only recently returned to practice after getting injured on the first day of camp, but it was obvious he’s Buffalo’s leader. The rest of the leadership group is what Ruff got a chance to see.
“The work ethic, that tone has been set by Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Samuelsson, Dahlin,” Ruff said. “The energy that these guys are bringing, the effort they are putting forth in games and practices is first and foremost the way I want guys to lead.”
That was the group of players that led the way in saying the team was ready for a coach who would push them harder. Dahlin smiled when asked if Ruff’s coaching has lived up to what they expected and he smiled, “It’s really good. It’s hockey.”
“The practices are really hard, the games are really hard,” he added. “Lindy always talks about, ‘Winning is hard.’ Talking to all of the guys around the locker room, everybody loves it. We love working hard. We love the hard practices. We love being tired. It’s a really good thing.”
Required reading
• Sabres roster projection: Predicting opening-night lineup, final camp battles
• Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin vowed to be better defensively and is starting to do it
(Photo: Joe Hrycych / NHLI via Getty Images)
