Sabres Sign Rasmus Dahlin to Massive Eight-Year Extension
The Buffalo Sabres wasted little time Monday morning to announce they signed Rasmus Dahlin to an eight-year deal worth $88 million. Here's what led the defenseman up to this point.
Five years ago, Rasmus Dahlin was an 18-year-old beginning his first season in the NHL after being drafted first overall by the Buffalo Sabres months earlier.
Flash forward to Monday, and the 23-year-old just signed a contract extension that's expected to make him tied as the second-highest-paid defenseman per season.
The Sabres announced they Dahlin to an eight-year deal that kicks in next year and is worth $11 million per season. The Lidkoping, Sweden, native is in the final season of a three-year contract worth $6 million annually, and he's produced impressive results so far.
Dahlin's coming off a 2022-23 season in which the Sabres had their best season since 2010-11, the last time they made the playoffs. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound defenseman tied for fifth in the NHL for points among defensemen, with 73 in 78 games. Dahlin's 58 assists led the Sabres, as did his 25:48 of ice time per game, which ranked third in the NHL.
He is also one of 12 NHL defensemen in history to record 200 or more points before celebrating their 23rd birthday. By the time Dahlin turned 23 in April, just before behind held without a point in the final game of the season, he amassed a career total of 46 goals, 187 assists and 233 points in 355 NHL games.
"I know I'm biased, but I look at him as one of the top in the world at what he does," Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said to the Buffalo Sabres NHL site last season. "He's taken huge steps. I couldn't be more proud of him but I also know how much work he's put into this. I still think he's going to get better. You hear me say that a lot. He's a player I believe will keep getting better."
Only eight players in the NHL have an $11 million or more this season. With Dahlin's contract extension beginning in 2024-25, he'll be one of nine. In fact, he'll be tied with Drew Doughty and trail Erik Karlsson's $11.5-million cap hit as the highest-paid blueliners in the league.
The extension is expected to also make him surpass Jeff Skinner's $9 million per season as the highest cap hit on the Sabres next season. It's still early on, but he'll be the 12th NHL-level Sabre signed for next season. Whether Dahlin will begin his next contract with a playoff appearance under his belt remains to be seen, with the Sabres aiming to improve on their 91-point season last year and cement their place in the Stanley Cup playoffs.