Cornerstone defensemen each have one year left on current contract
BUFFALO – On the eve of the first practice of training camp, Kevyn Adams had a late night.
The Sabres’ general manager spent hours on the phone Wednesday night with the respective agents for Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Conversations with each have been “more intense, more frequent” over the past week as Adams tries to sign his cornerstone defensemen to long-term contract extensions.
“The key takeaways are that I’ve explained to their camps and to them individually how important they are to this franchise and how we feel about them, and we want them here long term and just that kind of conversation,” he said. “They’ve clearly indicated to me and to us that this is where they want to be, and they believe in this team, and they believe in the direction we’re headed. So, that’s the start, and then you work from there.
“These are not easy to get done. They’re critically important for both sides and we need to ensure they’re right. It needs to be right for both sides. So, throughout the summer, I’ve had what I would characterize as very positive conversations, productive conversations.”
Dahlin, 23, and Power, 20, each have a year left on their current contracts and became eligible to sign an extension July 1. Dahlin signed a three-year, $18 million contract ($6 million average annual value) on Sept. 22, 2021. Power signed a three-year, entry-level contract April 8, 2022.
Discussions on new deals began around the NHL Scouting Combine in June when Adams met with the agents for each at KeyBank Center.
Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, set NHL career highs in goals (15), assists (58) and points (73) in 78 games last season and finished third in the League with an average ice time of 25:48 per game. He came in eighth in voting for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the top defenseman.
The Sabres selected Power with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He had 35 points (four goals, 31 assists) in 79 games in his first full NHL season and was 20th among skaters in average ice time per game at 23:48 (minimum 10 games). He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL rookie of the year.
Dahlin has emerged as one of the NHL’s elite defensemen and could land a contract with an average annual value between $10 million and $11 million. Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins has the highest cap hit among NHL defensemen at $11.5 million, followed by Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings.
While fans have anxiously waited for an announcement, Dahlin hasn’t been concerned. He arrived in Buffalo about three to four weeks ago to prepare for his sixth NHL season. He’s put his focus on what he can control, namely getting ready for the season, while his agent and management “do their thing.”
“I have one more year on my contract and I’m not really worried about anything,” he said. “I love the city. I love the team. I love everything. So, I’m not worried.”
Locking up younger players identified as part of the core has been a priority for Adams over the past year. The Sabres inked Tage Thompson, 25, to a seven-year, $50 million pact ($7.14 million AAV) on Aug. 30, 2022; Mattias Samuelsson, 23, signed a seven-year, $30 million contract ($4.29 million AAV) on Oct. 12, 2022; and Dylan Cozens, 22, signed a seven-year, $49.7 million deal ($7.1 million AAV) on Feb. 7, 2023.
“We've talked a lot over the last couple of years now about the core of this team and putting it together,” Adams said. “To set ourselves up for sustainable success, you need to make sure that you retain the pieces that you believe are going to help you do that. These guys are both elite young defensemen in the league. Rasmus is a little further along in his career. But they're both to me critically important pieces of the puzzle moving forward.”
Adams doesn’t have a set deadline for getting the contracts done but would ideally like it to be sooner rather than later.
“I've been open and transparent in conversations with their agents to say, ‘The focus ultimately, starting the season, I really want to make sure is on our players individually having the best year they can and focusing on our team and eliminate as many distractions as possible,’” he said. said “We'll see how this goes. I'm not drawing line in the sand, but I'd like to keep pushing here through training camp to move things along.”
