Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin recently received a high honor when the NHL Network ranked him as the league's best player born since the year 2000.
Dahlin topped a list that also featured the New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes, San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini and a pair of Ottawa Senators, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson, inside the top five. Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks came in at No. 8.
It's star-studded group featuring players who will carry the NHL into the next generation, and it puts even more pressure on Buffalo's front office to finally build a contending team around the 25-year-old blue-line superstar before it's too late.
Dahlin's NHL track record
The 2018 first overall pick deserves a lot of credit for fighting through some early-career struggles — which can be contributed to both individual growing pains and a difficult development environment given the team's longtime losing culture — to ultimately become an elite NHL player.
Dahlin has recorded 360 points (83 goals and 277 assists) in 509 games for the Sabres. He tallied 17 goals and 51 helpers across 73 appearances during the 2024-25 campaign, which helped him achieve a career-best sixth-place finish in Norris Trophy voting.
The Swede's underlying metrics are equally as strong. Last season, his +10.7% relative expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 5-on-5 — a statistic that measures his on-ice success compared to his teammates — ranked second among NHL defensemen behind only the New York Rangers' Adam Fox, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It's a common theme. Dahlin ranks fifth in that stat over the past three seasons combined (+6.7%, per NST) as he's continued to produce high-end results despite an underwhelming defensive group in Buffalo. It's a unit that should be improved this season.
That said, there's a real chance the three-time All-Star would be viewed as the NHL's best defenseman, or at least in the conversation alongside Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, if he played for a Stanley Cup contender rather than an organization riding a 14-year playoff drought.
Dahlin's 2025-26 outlook
A crucial season awaits Dahlin, who's tasked with not only leading the Sabres back to the postseason but also taking on an important role for Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
From an NHL perspective, the best thing that could happen is a more complete defensive corps allowing him to take on a lesser role on the penalty kill. If he can play a few less shifts shorthanded and a couple more offensive-zone starts, it could take his point production to a new level.
Last year, Makar won the Norris Trophy on the strength of a 92-point campaign. Dahlin is absolutely capable of reaching that 90-point threshold if he's not tasked with playing on the top penalty-kill pairing, and a more competitive team around him would obviously help, as well.
It can be a successful season even if he doesn't win the Norris, though. An eight-month stretch that features at least 80 points, a Sabres playoff berth and an Olympic medal with Sweden would be a highly successful year for the 6-foot-3 defender.
Yes, being ranked as the top player born in the current millennium sets a sky-high standard, but Dahlin is talented enough to prove the voters right.