Season in Review | Rasmus Dahlin

Every day through early May, Sabres.com will be recapping each player’s performance with all the numbers, highlights, quotations and content that tell the story of their 2024-25 season.

Up first: the captain.

Rasmus Dahlin, D

73 GP | 17 G | 51 A | 68 P | +11

Season at a glance

On the ice, Buffalo got the same-old Rasmus Dahlin in 2024-25. Shooting, passing, physicality, defensive-zone breakouts… the former first-overall pick continued to shine in every area of his game during his seventh NHL season.

As Dahlin went, so did the Sabres. With him on the ice at 5-on-5, the Sabres owned a 55-percent share of shot attempts and shots on goal, and 58 percent of goals (outscoring opponents 70-50). Without No. 26 on the ice, those numbers dropped to 47 percent of shot attempts, 45 percent of shots and 47 percent of goals (outscored 131-115). It’s understandable, then, that the team went 0-7-2 with a minus-20 goal differential in its nine games with Dahlin this season; eight of those nine came during the December winless streak as he recovered from back spasms.

While excelling individually, Dahlin was learning on the fly in his first year as Buffalo’s captain. At age 25, the youngest captain on the NHL’s youngest roster admittedly prefers to lead by example. Terrific as that on-ice example was, he grew in his role as a vocal leader as the season progressed.

The Swedish blueliner also played in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where he scored a goal and, for three games, childhood idols like Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman became teammates.

Number to know: 68

Dahlin’s 68 points ranked fourth among NHL defensemen this season, trailing only Cale Makar (92), Zach Werenski (82) and Quinn Hughes (76).

He nearly matched his career-high 73 points from 2022-23, which came in five more games. And the productive campaign saw Dahlin reach 360 career points, passing Mike Ramsey (329) for second most by a blueliner in Sabres history; only Phil Housley (558) recorded more.

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They said it

“I think he learned a lot of what it takes to be a captain. He also learned a lot about himself, and I’m really excited to see how much he grows as a person and as a player going forward. And you can just see him come into his own. You can see him get more comfortable each and every day, and that’s key. That’s huge. He’s so young. I feel like at times he might think he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he really wants to win, and that’s the most important thing for him. And that’s the type of captain I want. – Alex Tuch at April’s end-of-season press conference.

“He’s a top defenseman in this league. He’s always a dangerous player when you play against him, and I think that he showed it here as well. He can skate like anybody and break the puck out, and obviously he’s dangerous offensively. I thought he was really good for us, and with his age, it’s exciting to see where he can go.” – Swedish defenseman Mattias Ekholm after the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“I believe in the players we have. We have so much talent in that group. It’s such a young group, and I think you need experience to becoming a winning hockey team. … But we’ve had a couple years when the same team has been together, so I think it’s time now to take the next step.” – Dahlin at his end-of-season press conference.

End-of-season press conference

Required reading

• Dahlin launches foundation to support WNY children in need
• 4 Nations ‘a dream come true’ for Dahlin
• Teammates share memories ahead of Dahlin’s 500th game

Up next

Dahlin could be representing Sweden at May’s 2025 World Championship – he also played in the 2022 and 2024 tournaments, totaling 16 points in 18 games – pending some minor injuries he’s having evaluated.

His goal for himself and the Sabres is to prepare for October and be ready to play their best hockey as soon as the regular season begins.

"We have to get better," Dahlin said. "We have to improve in most areas and we better come back in good shape. I hope everybody has their best summer."