Buffalo Sabres captain and star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence from the team, head coach Lindy Ruff announced today. There is currently no timetable on how long Dahlin will be away from the team. The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn noted that the absence is for Dahlin to return to Sweden, his home country, to be with fiancée, Carolina Matovac.
In September, Dahlin and Matovac jointly announced that Matovac had undergone a heart transplant over the summer following a traumatic health scare while travelling in Europe. In the letter, Dahlin said “this has undoubtedly been the most challenging chapter of our lives” and expressed gratitude for those who supported them at the time.
Per The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ruff told the media that “things are going well” at the moment with Matovac, but also that it was important to let Dahlin step away at this time. He added that Dahlin has “got the support of everyone on this” and that “this is bigger than hockey.”
Dahlin is one of the Sabres’ most important players, and has been since he was made the number-one overall pick at the 2018 draft by the team. He’s their captain, their number-one defenseman, and leading defensive scorer. Taking a moment to consider the hockey implications of this announcement, it appears likely that both Bowen Byram and Owen Power will be leaned on more heavily by Ruff while Dahlin is away.