Heading into the 2024-25 season, Rasmus Dahlin believes that he can aid the Buffalo Sabres in transforming themselves to become elite contenders in the league. This says a lot about how much Dahlin really wants to win and improve the team’s chemistry and hunger in the game now more than ever.

The Sabres finished 12th overall in the Eastern Conference last season with a 38-33-11 record. Sure, they finished well above the .500 mark, but the team has failed to come up with impressive performances in the season that ultimately led them to fall off the playoff chase when they nearly had a promising pace to begin the campaign.

For Dahlin, the goal of improving and taking his leadership up a notch is to show that he has what it takes to lead the team to a bigger level of greatness in the game. At best, this sets bigger expectations for the Sabres in the long run as the team is in dire desperation of trying to make it to the playoffs at this point in time.

Breaking a Drought

The Buffalo Sabres have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 13 years in a row right now, which is the longest playoff drought in the NHL right now. Dahlin has played in six of those 13 years, and has been named as an alternate captain in the last two seasons, which has definitely urged him to step up and take steps towards bringing his game to the next level.

At the age of 24, Dahlin has been definitely taking his leadership role seriously and quite on the fence about seeing his team take a leap in their games. With captain Kyle Okposo departing via trade last March, it does seem that Dahlin is expected to take his game to the next level with the hopes of also bringing his team to a bigger run.

"What this says most is about 'Dahls,' how much he wants to win, how much he wants to do stuff right and how much he wants to take care of everybody else in the team and make sure that we're in the best shape to start the season," teammate Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen said. "I think it's a lot from him and how well he does things for us that the players were able to come there.”

Setting Expectations on Dahlin

Dahlin was selected to his third straight NHL All-Star Game in the previous season after a run full of impressive performances. Back in April when they were eliminated from playoff contention in a loss to the Dallas Stars, Dahlin believed that they can be so much better and improve their status in the league.

"We're a young team, but that shouldn't be an excuse anymore," Dahlin said. "We are looking at ourselves in the mirror and we have to be better. It sucks. We have to get better. We got to make sure this doesn't happen again. We got some work to do and the group is all-in for it."

Dahlin wants everyone to get better, and he is definitely happy to see his boys ready and eager to improve and show that they have what it takes to win. There are a lot of positive takeaways from the recent practices that they have enjoyed so far, and Dahlin believes that this will serve as a reminder that the team is not far from contention at all.