What Happened
Rasmus Dahlin arrived at Buffalo Sabres training camp with a clear focus after his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, recovered from life-saving heart transplant surgery in Europe and rejoined him in Buffalo in March. The Sabres are coming off their first Atlantic Division title and first playoff series win since 2007, a run that ended with a Game 7 second-round loss to Montreal. Buffalo opens the season at Columbus on Thursday with a younger roster after trading Alex Tuch to Washington and Bowen Byram to Chicago.
Key Details
- Dahlin said he can now focus on hockey rather than daily worries about his family situation.
- Buffalo clinched its first Atlantic Division title and first playoff series win since 2007.
- The Sabres lost to Montreal in Game 7 of the second round.
- Alex Tuch was traded to Washington; Bowen Byram was traded to Chicago.
- Buffalo opens the 2026-27 season at Columbus on Thursday.
- General manager Jarmo Kekalainen is counting on the club's young players.
What It Means
Buffalo's breakthrough ended a 14-season playoff drought, and the club now faces higher expectations internally and around the league. The departures of Tuch and Byram remove two key contributors from that run, leaving a younger roster to show last season was not a one-off. Dahlin, entering his ninth NHL season at 26, carries the captaincy and the burden of proving the Sabres have changed.
What's Next
Buffalo opens the regular season at Columbus on Thursday, the first test of whether a younger roster can sustain last season's standard without Tuch and Byram.