Buffalo Sabres: What will Dahlin’s inevitable extension look like?

We know the Buffalo Sabres will sign Rasmus Dahlin to a contract extension, but we only have an idea of what such an extension’s details will be.

Rasmus Dahlin may have scored 73 points last season with 15 goals and 58 assists. But that was just the tip of a larger iceberg, as the former first overall pick showed off an edge, posting 105 hits and 132 blocks, with an additional 45 takeaways.

Want more fun? At even strength, Dahlin’s Corsi and Fenwick For Percentages sailed to career highs of 53.1% and 52.5%, respectively. The same occurred at 5-on-5, with a Corsi For sitting at 53.3% and a Fenwick of 52.8%. And despite overall marginal goaltending, the Buffalo Sabres save percentage with Dahlin on the ice rested at 90.5% at 5-on-5.

While Dahlin was snubbed as a finalist for the Norris Trophy, we also knew he wasn’t playing at full strength down the stretch as the Blue and Gold tried to end their record playoff drought. Had he been 100% all season, perhaps the Sabres sneak into the playoffs and perhaps he’s right up there with Erik Karlsson in hopes of taking the Norris?

Buffalo Sabres will pay Rasmus Dahlin rather well

While Dahlin saw some struggles throughout the early stages of his career, mainly thanks to the inept Ralph Krueger, he’s since become one of the NHL’s top blueliners under head coach Don Granato, and he will be paid like one. Want confirmation? Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News said the following:

“Adams should be prepared to pay between $9-10 million over seven or eight years, beginning with the 2024-25 season.” – Lance Lysowski via Buffalo News.

Despite Lysowski’s take, it wouldn’t surprise me if that AAV sailed north of $10 million, and that the number of years hit eight as opposed to seven. Mike Harrington, however, believed Dahlin’s sum would be even higher.

“Dahlin is going to get the highest AAV in Sabres history and join Erik Karlsson ($11.5M) and Drew Doughty ($11M). I say he gets 7 years for $77M, $11 million per.” – Mike Harrington, via Buffalo News.

Ultimately, I’m going to make a prediction in the middle of what the pair are saying, and going with $10.5 million over eight years. Dahlin has more than proven his worth, as we outlined above, posting outstanding numbers and metrics for the most part offensively and defensively.

He may even be the face of the Buffalo Sabres franchise moving forward, and therefore, the Blue and Gold will pay him like the franchise player he is. Look for an eight-figure AAV for Dahlin, and he will be a Sabre for a long, long time, hoping to lead this team back into the playoffs, and then some.

Source: Sabres roundtable: Playoffs? Deadline move? MVP of second half? Dahlin’s contract? by Mike Harrington and Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com