The Buffalo Sabres have just announced that captain and star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will be taking a temporary leave of absence and going back to his home country Sweden.
Speaking after practice on Friday, coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the media and let them know about the player’s decision, saying –
“Rasmus will be taking a temporary leave of absence to deal with a personal matter back in Sweden.
“I will say this, he said everything is ok, and through this he’s got the full support by our team.
“I think it’s been incredibly hard. I fully understand what this young man is going through. I don’t think you can describe it. I don’t think you can feel what he’s feeling. I’m very passionate about the fact that no one would want to walk in his shoes and have dealt with what he dealt with. He has the support of everybody on this. This is larger than hockey.
“That always comes first. Family and personal come before hockey. Hockey’s our job, hockey’s our lifeline, but family and personal trump anything else.”
Earlier this season, the 25-year-old revealed a nightmarish story involving his fiancée Carolina Matovac. She experienced a life-threatening health scare while vacationing over the summer in France, which involved sudden heart failure. Matovac received multiple rounds of CPR, was on life support for weeks, and was eventually transferred to a hospital where she received a heart transplant and is on the path to a full recovery. Since the transplant she has been recuperating in Sweden, and both Matovac and Dahlin have expressed gratitude to the medical staff and to organ donors for her recovery.
The couple detailed the events of the summer in an open letter to the fans that was published on the Sabres website.
Dahlin has had a difficult start to the season. The defenseman hasn’t been the offensive powerhouse that he usually is, and has been liable to more errors in his own end as well. While none of us can quite imagine what the couple have already gone through and what could be playing on the Sabres captain’s mind every time he steps out onto the ice, this is definitely the right decision both for the player’s wellbeing and his hockey career.
Speaking after the loss last night, Dahlin said –
“I’ve got more to give. I’m not satisfied. I want to create more. I want to do more out there. I’m not satisfied but I’m on the way.”
We wish Ms. Matovac the very best of health with what she is going through, and the couple all the strength and fortitude as they endure all this challenge brings.