Sabres have foundation in place with Dahlin, Power signed long term

BUFFALO -- Rasmus Dahlin walked onto the blue carpet leading into KeyBank Center on Thursday looking like a million bucks.

Actually, more like $88 million.

Wearing a hip blue three-piece suit with accompanying cool shades, it was as though the Buffalo Sabres defenseman was bringing a Hollywood vibe to western New York. Indeed, he received the movie-star treatment from the hundreds of fans who lined the walkway into the arena as part of the Sabres’ season-opening festivities, cheering him on and pleading for autographs.

Fellow defenseman Owen Power received a similar welcome during his entrance, with spectators congratulating him on the seven-year, $58.45 million contract ($8.35 million average annual value) he’d signed a day earlier.

With the Sabres preparing for their 2023-24 regular-season opener against the New York Rangers later in the day, Buffalo’s long-suffering hockey fans got a glimpse of the future foundation of the Sabres franchise, both for this season and, hopefully, much of the ensuing decade.

They liked what they saw. And, obviously, so do those running the Sabres after signing both this week.

“It’s huge for us,” general manager Kevyn Adams said, summarizing the feeling of the franchise in those four succinct words.

Indeed, in the span of three days this week, the Sabres locked up two key pieces they hope will be the foundation for years to come.

First came the announcement Monday that Dahlin agreed to an eight-year, $88 million contract ($11 million AAV). Then came the news Wednesday that Power signed a long-term deal.

Each deal kicks in after this season, meaning Dahlin is under contract until 2032 and Power until 2031. When their respective deals expire, the 23-year-old Dahlin will be 32; Power 28.

In other words, the Sabres, barring injuries or trades, will have both for the majority of their peak years. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other NHL teams who could make that claim about two blue-chip defensemen.

“It is tough to play defense in this league as it is,” Adams said. “Obviously with Rasmus and Owen being No. 1 overall picks (Dahlin 2018; Power 2021) that were defensemen, you come into the League with a certain pressure and expectation on their shoulders.

“It’s not easy, but we need to get those foundational pieces that we believe are franchise-type defensemen. It just helps you build everything around that.”

For his part, Dahlin is all-in when it comes to the prospect of being on the same defense as Power for the next eight seasons.

“We bring creativity, some offense, but also defense,” Dahlin said. “We can play at both ends in any situation. I think that’s key. We have a really good [defense] core, and we have a chance to do something special here. We just have to make sure we work hard every day.

“[Management] has shown they believe in us, and we’re really appreciative of that. So, we have to make sure we make them proud that they believe in us.”

Each has given the Sabres plenty of reason to.

Dahlin, a native of Lidkoping, Sweden, had an NHL career-high 73 points (15 goals, 58 assists) in 78 games last season. He has 233 points in 356 games since entering the League in 2018-19 and is one of 12 defensemen to get 200 points prior to his 23rd birthday.

Power, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year last season, when he had 35 points (four goals, 31 assists) in 79 games. He led all rookies in average time on ice (23:48) and ranked fifth among NHL skaters in total even-strength ice time (1,634:47).

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to play with a guy like [Dahlin] for the next eight years,” Power said. “I think it’s awesome that they want us to be here and the core we’ve built is going to be around for the next seven, eight years.

“I think it’s a great step to becoming a winning franchise.”

There will be growing pains, of course, such as the 5-1 loss to the Rangers in Buffalo’s season opener Thursday. The more experienced visitors were relentless on the forecheck and forced the young Sabres into turning pucks over on a frequent basis.

That didn’t stop the capacity crowd from getting a glimpse of the future.

With three minutes remaining in the first period, Rangers center Filip Chytil broke into the Sabres zone when he was sent airborne by the hip of Dahlin. The clean check was one of the few moments in the game when the crowd was given the opportunity to roar.

Chances are Dahlin and Power will give them plenty more reason to in the coming years.