Rasmus Dahlin entered the 2025-26 season with a legitimate case as one of the five best defensemen in the NHL. The Norris Trophy candidate hasn't provided anywhere near that level of play across the Buffalo Sabres' first nine games, though.
Dahlin ranks last among eight Sabres blueliners in expected goals for percentage (xGF%) in 5-on-5 situations at 44.7%, according to Natural Stat Trick. He rates 124th in that category among 161 NHL defenders who've play at least 100 minutes, per NST. (Yes, the sample size is still relatively small.)
The 2018 No.