Headlines

  • Mark Giordano Signs Extension With Maple Leafs
  • Rick Bowness Will Not Return As Dallas Stars Coach
  • Nashville Predators Extend John Hynes
  • Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer
  • New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach
  • Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Buffalo Sabres Sign Rasmus Dahlin

September 22, 2021 at 9:49 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on a three-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $6MM. The young defenseman was a restricted free agent but was listed on the Sabres’ training camp roster yesterday, suggesting a deal was coming soon. CapFriendly has the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $3.0MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
  • 2022-23: $5.8MM salary
  • 2023-24: $7.2MM salary

Dahlin, 21, certainly hasn’t been a disappointment since being selected first overall in 2018, but he also hasn’t been the franchise-changing savior that many Sabres fans were hoping for. The young defenseman stepped directly into the NHL and showed his offensive chops, recording 44 points in his rookie season and finishing third in the Calder Race, but has been dragged down–whether by his teammates or his own inconsistent defensive play–in his own end.

There’s no doubt that Dahlin is one of the most dynamic puck-movers in the NHL, but even that offensive output dropped this season as the Sabres collapsed into a league bottom-feeder once again. A contract like this, which ties Dahlin for the 30th highest cap hit among defensemen this season, certainly doesn’t leave room for a ton of surplus value unless he really gets back to the player he showed early on.

With no Rasmus Ristolainen in the fold now, Dahlin should take on even more responsibility for the Sabres. He heads into this season leading a defense corps that is made up almost entirely of pieces acquired through trade, some of them just cap dumps, and may have another difficult season as he waits for the help of Owen Power, the team’s latest top pick. When he gets him, which by all accounts should be at the end of the upcoming season, Dahlin and the 2021 first-overall pick should form a dynamic duo for the Sabres to build around, each logging big minutes on the left side.

Even though this contract may actually be a bit on the expensive side–Zach Werenski, with comparable if not better numbers, signed a similar bridge deal that was worth just $15MM over three years in 2019–it’s not really an issue for the Sabres who are fighting just to get to the cap floor. The team can certainly afford to pay Dahlin a little bit more to keep him in the fold while they go through another rebuild.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Buffalo Sabres| Newsstand| Rasmus Dahlin

Robert Thomas Signs With St. Louis Blues
Main
Alex Stalock Not Expected To Play This Season
View Comments (1)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Jimmykinglive

    8 months ago

    No mention of the $7.2 mil QO he’ll need to get at the end of this contract

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Mark Giordano Signs Extension With Maple Leafs

    Rick Bowness Will Not Return As Dallas Stars Coach

    Nashville Predators Extend John Hynes

    Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer

    New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach

    Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

    New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz

    Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach

    Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff

    Red Wings Will Not Bring Back Jeff Blashill Next Season

    Recent

    Vancouver Canucks Expected To Sign Linus Karlsson

    Joe Thornton Undecided About His Playing Future

    Offseason Checklist: Detroit Red Wings

    Islanders Sign Ruslan Iskhakov

    East Notes: Senators Injuries, Goodrow, Kaski

    Snapshots: PWHPA, Kane, Chiasson

    Examining Sergei Bobrovsky’s Future

    Tom Wilson Undergoes Knee Surgery

    Brian Lashoff Signs AHL Contract

    Atlantic Notes: St. Louis, Giroux, Senators

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version