Dahlin voted as winner of 2025-26 Rick Martin Memorial Award

Rasmus Dahlin was on the Buffalo Sabres’ bench, conversing with teammate Peyton Krebs, when an in-arena announcement caught his attention.

It was March 25, and Dahlin’s fiancée, Carolina Matovac, was back inside KeyBank Center for the first time this season after undergoing an emergency heart transplant during the summer. Matovac was shown on the video board as 19,070 fans rose to their feet.

“That was so special,” Dahlin said later. “Also very, very special for her. I can’t thank people around this city enough. We’ve had so much support. They gave her a standing ovation. It was unbelievable. I did not expect that. It wasn’t easy playing that game, that’s for sure. I’m just so happy for her.”

The moment was yet another example of the bond between the people of Buffalo and their captain. That relationship showed itself once again Wednesday, when Dahlin was announced as the 2026 recipient of the Rick Martin Memorial Award.

“The Rico” recognizes the Sabres player who best demonstrates “on-ice excellence, resilience and dedication to the community” as determined by a fan vote. The award is presented by the Sabres’ Gold Ring Partners: KeyBank, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and LECOM.

Dahlin learned of the award prior to the Sabres’ regular-season finale against the Dallas Stars. He was surprised with the honor by Sophia LaBorde, a fan with whom he’s developed a close personal relationship in recent years as LaBorde has battled a rare form of liver cancer. LaBorde read a letter she’d written to Dahlin before handing him the trophy.

“I did not expect this,” Dahlin said. “That means a lot.”​

Dahlin captained the Sabres to their first playoff berth amid the adversity in his personal life, with Carolina recovering back home in Sweden until this past month. He was uplifted by the support of teammates and coaches, who allowed Dahlin to return to Sweden for a week in November to be with Carolina at a pivotal point of her recovery.

He returned to the Sabres for their game in Detroit on Nov. 15, a comeback overtime win, and has been his usual dominant on-ice presence ever since. His 74 points are a career high and rank sixth among league defensemen. On a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast last week, Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger and Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman both referred to Dahlin as their frontrunner to win the Norris Trophy.

Dahlin’s season included his first career hat trick in Toronto on Jan. 27. One day prior, Matovac had revealed in an Instagram post that the couple had experienced a pregnancy loss which contributed to the discovery of her heart failure. Their due date was Jan. 26.

“Obviously what he’s going through personally, I can’t even imagine,” Tage Thompson said following that game in Toronto. “The fact that he’s here playing hockey and competing for us means the world to us and I think that just speaks to his character.

“How much he loves the team, how much he wants to win. And he’s not just playing, he’s leading by example. I can’t say enough good things about him and obviously the mental strength you have to have to be able to do what he’s doing is pretty impressive.”

His passion for Buffalo has remained at the heart of his efforts. Dahlin and Thompson are the longest-tenured Sabres, having both joined the club in 2018. As recent years passed without team success, the two star players had routine discussions about seeing it through and leading the Sabres into the playoffs.

“To be the ones that really, really are trying every single year, and eventually you’re a big piece of that change,” Dahlin said. “That’s bigger than a lot of things. Me and Tage, we’ve just manifested it or whatever, talked about how that feeling would be, and it’s indescribable, honestly.

“We said to each other, ‘This is the place. We’re not leaving. We have to turn this around.’ It’s a crazy feeling.”