Rasmus Dahlin had a perfect reaction to Jarmo Kekalainen's first trade deadline with Sabres

This was Rasmus Dahlin's eighth time going through the NHL Trade Deadline as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. He is a player who doesn't have to worry too much this time of year because the Sabres are not going to consider moving a player of his caliber, especially with how well the team has been playing.

However, this might be the most excited Dahlin has been during this time, and after practice on Friday, spoke very highly of the job Jarmo Kekalainen did as general manager. This was not Kekalinen's first trade deadline as general manager; he had a number of them while with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it was the first since being named general manager of the Sabres back in December.

"It shows he is here to make a difference, and that makes us super excited. He wants to win as much as we do in this locker room, and we're all in this together," Dahlin said. We're doing our job, and he's doing his job. Jarmo has done a great job, and he's been great for us so far."

Rasmus Dahlin has seen the Buffalo Sabres sit idly by too many times during the NHL Trade Deadline

Over Dahlin's eight-year career with the Buffalo Sabres, the team has had Kevyn Adams as their general manager. He was certainly not known to be aggressive or actively try to search out big moves this time of the season.

That was also partially due to the fact that the Sabres were just not in a position that they are now. They were usually buried in the standings, and playoffs did not seem likely, which forced Adams to be a seller instead of trying to acquire players.

However, there have been times that the Sabres were still in playoff contention like in 2022-23. At the end of February that season, they were 31-23-4 but finished 11-10-3 over the final 24 games to miss the playoffs.

The Sabres would acquire Bowen Byram leading up to that NHL Trade Deadline but would also move Kyle Okposo and were not acting like a team that was trying to make a run at the playoffs.

For Jarmo Kekalainen, it was clear he was trying to add to the roster, and while they only made two moves that added depth, he was trying to make a splash with trade discussions around Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko. Sometimes those trades don't work out, but the Sabres were clearly making an effort, and that is probably why Dahlin was as excited as he was.

The Buffalo Sabres are now in a great position to not only reach the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons but also advance deep with the roster they have.