Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is among the highest-paid players in the NHL, and was a central figure in the club winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Along with his performance for Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano – Cortina, the Sabres team captain finished with a career-high 74 points and third in voting for the Norris Trophy.
In their annual raking of NHL defensemen, the 26-year-old was ranked fourth by NHL Network behind a trio of Norris winners, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Zach Werenski. Dahlin was selected first overall in 2018 and will be entering his ninth season this fall with Buffalo. Makar scored more than 20 goals for the third straight season with Colorado, Hughes had 78 points with Vancouver and Minnesota, and Werenski had 81 points and won the Norris last season.
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Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars completed the top five, and some new blood vaulted into the top 10, with Lane Hutson, Mathew Schaefer, Jake Sanderson, and Moritz Seider ranked six through nine and Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers ranked 10th for the second year in a row.
Dahlin’s offensive consistency will be put to the test even more next season, with the departure of Bowen Byram to Chicago. Owen Power had an excellent playoff, but has not put up big offensive numbers, and the additions on the blueline are not considered big point producers, so most of the onus will be on the Sabres team captain.
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