While Rasmus Dahlin is the Buffalo Sabres MVP, winger Victor Olofsson deserves post-All-Star MVP honors for his stellar second-half of the season.
Perhaps no one on the Buffalo Sabres improved more since the All-Star break than Victor Olofsson. After a huge start to the season in which he logged nine points in eight games, including three multiple-point games, Olofsson sustained an injury and tailed off.
Between November 21st and February 13th, he logged just 12 points and zero goals. In the final year of his contract, Olofsson looked destined for the muck pile. Especially with a $3.25 million base pay in 2021-22, the Sabres would have rightfully seen no reason to re-sign him.
That shifted on February 15th when he logged two goals against the New York Islanders. And okay, we all thought the same: When something amazing happens once, it’s an outlier. If that something happens again, it understandably draws interest. Happens multiple times, it’s a habit.
Victor Olofsson is the Buffalo Sabres Team MVP post-All-Star break
Olofsson recorded another pair of two-goal games since his breakout performance in February. He also has five multiple-point games in that same span. The guy, who many pundits believed was nothing more than a power play specialist, developed into one of the team’s most complete players.
He is fourth on the team in points with 44, and don’t be surprised if he logs a few more in the final four games of the season. Olofsson’s efforts also did not go unnoticed. He earned a spot on the top scoring line with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson to close out the season, a sign the Sabres are seriously considering bringing him back.
If Olofsson returns and manages to stay healthy, there is no limit on what kind of production he can bring to the team. Expect general manager Kevyn Adams to relentlessly pursue Olofsson and keep him in town for another few seasons.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)