Rasmus Dahlin will get his All-Star moment after all
When the original NHL All-Star Game rosters were revealed, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was perhaps the biggest snub in the NHL.
He didn’t earn the automatic bid that comes with each team needing a representative at the All-Star Game, because teammate Tage Thompson has had a lights-out season (34 goals and 34 assists in 50 games).
The final roster spots in each division were awarded after the initial wave of players was released, and Dahlin did not make it at that point either. When Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews had to be removed from the roster due to injury, Dahlin was again passed over.
Now, the 22-year-old blueliner will finally get to go to Florida for the NHL’s big weekend. He will take the place of Thompson, who is unfortunately injured and unable to participate.
Rasmus Dahlin will rightfully be an All-Star in 2023.
Of course, the circumstances are extremely bittersweet for Dahlin. There is a clear positive and negative to Rasmus Dahlin filling in for Tage Thompson, but instead of dwelling on the latter’s absence, let’s focus on the positives.
In 49 games this season, Dahlin has tallied 14 goals and 41 assists for 55 points. No Sabres skater has more helpers than number 26, and his 55 points tie him for 20th in the NHL in points. Keep in mind, he’s a defenseman.
Dahlin’s plus-19 mark ties him for 22nd league-wide in that category, while his 41 assists are tied for sixth (with guys like Matthew Tkachuk, Mitch Marner, and Nathan MacKinnon). He also leads Buffalo skaters in ice time, playing 26:07 per game. That ranks third in the NHL.
Clearly, he has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL this season and one of the best players in general. This will be his second All-Star Game, as he represented the Sabres in 2022.
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How Rasmus Dahlin was not chosen to be an All-Star, especially after a member of the Atlantic Division team became unable to play, I have no idea. What I do know is that he will ultimately get what he has earned, and that is a spot in All-Star Weekend.