Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence from the team to travel back to Sweden to be with his fiancee Carolina Matovac. Matovac is currently recovering from a heart transplant in her native country, with Dahlin returning to be by her side.
There is currently not timetable for when Dahlin would return to the Sabres, though head coach Lindy Ruff was at least able to confirm that Matovac had not suffered any setbacks.
“[Dahlin] said everything is OK,” Ruff told reporters Friday. “I think it’s been incredibly hard. I fully understand what this young man is going through. I don’t think you can describe it. I’m very passionate about the fact that no one would want to walk in his shoes and to have dealt with what he has dealt with. He has the support of everybody on this. This is larger than hockey.”
“Family and personal come before hockey,” Ruff continued. “Hockey’s our job, hockey’s our lifeline, but family and personal trump anything else.”
Through 14 games, Buffalo sports a 5-5-4 record, and currently sit in last place in the Atlantic Division. Dahlin has tallied 9 points (1G, 8A) thus far, but sports a crooked -11 rating on the year. The 25 year old has expressed frustration to the press at various points this season, saying that he has “more to give”.
Evidently the team felt it would be best for their captain to go be with his family and get the medical issues sorted out, rather than trying to continue to play through the process. The hope is that Matovac can continue to progress, and possibly even join Dahlin stateside at some point this season.
The Lidkoping native is currently in the 2nd year of an 8 year contract extension signed back in October of 2023 which carries an average annual value of $11M through 2031-32. Up next for Buffalo is a Saturday night clash with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.