BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s first practice under new coach Lindy Ruff lasted just a few minutes.
Dahlin, 24, departed Wednesday’s opening session of training camp early after suffering what Ruff called a “mid-range” injury.
Ruff had no update on Dahlin, who will be examined.
“It’s just one of those things he was passing the puck and something happened,” Ruff said in KeyBank Center. “So (as a) precaution, (we) got him off.”
Losing Dahlin would be a huge blow. The Swede has established himself as one of the NHL’s most dynamic defenseman. Last season, he scored a career-high 20 goals and 59 points, which tied for the team lead. He also averaged a team-high 25 minutes, 25 seconds of ice time over 81 games.
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Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams believes center Matt Savoie, the high-end prospect he traded to the Edmonton Oilers on July 5 in exchange for center Ryan McLeod and forward prospect Tyler Tullio, will be a good NHL player.
The Sabres, however, needed immediate help down the middle. To pry McLeod, 24, away, they had to deal Savoie, the ninth overall pick in 2022.
“We felt there was a bit of a hole in our lineup at the center position and we were looking for someone who is an established, good NHL player but still had years and could grow,” Adams said. “Certainly, McLeod fit that. Great speed. He’s been in the league. Played on a really, really good team and played an important role. (He’s a) penalty killer and can take faceoffs. He’s at a great age, so that’s a deal that we thought we had to make.
“I’ve said all along, you need to draft well and you need to develop your prospects but also when there’s an opportunity to make your team better, you have to be willing to make hard decisions.”
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Center Peyton Krebs, the Sabres’ last restricted free agent, signed a two-year, $2.9 million contract on Tuesday. Why did deal get completed the day before camp opened?
“I don’t think it needed to take that long,” Adams said. “You’d have to ask his guys why it did. Sometimes the season, there’s deadlines that just naturally happen. … In this situation, training camp was kind of the deadline where it needed to get done, and it did.
“I’m excited for Peyton. I think it’s a clean slate for him, he’s hungry, he’s had a good summer, he’s ready to go.”
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Right now, the Sabres have an estimated $7 million of salary cap space, according to PuckPedia, the eighth-highest number in the league.
Adams stressed “there has been zero pushback from ownership about what we can spend or can’t spend.”
“We will spend the money that we think we need to spend to win,” he said. “… As you put your roster together, you can’t just look at it as today. You’re predicting what future contracts look like. So, this past summer, you’re looking at certain situations whether it’s trades or potential UFAs, and it really wasn’t the dollars because we could have spent more dollars. It was the term, and what did that do to the next three or four guys that we probably have to sign next summer? ….
“But for me, it’s never been about that. It’s been about putting a roster together that we believe can win, and … if we think there’s a deal out there that’ll help us get better, we’re going to attack it.”
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The first of the three groups that practiced Wednesday likely featured all or most of the players the Sabres will bring to Europe next week: 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies.
“There could be changes, but I can tell you that first group that’s out there, probably in my all my years around the NHL, it’s rare where you kind of get down pretty close to your team, and that’s by design, because we don’t have time to mess around,” Adams said.
Only one rookie, Jiri Kulich, skated in that group. The Czech, 20, shared reps at left wing with JJ Peterka alongside top center Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
Kulich just performed dominantly during the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament, scoring five goals in three games.
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Adams said the Sabres will name a captain before the season opener Oct. 4.
“(Ruff’s) gotten to know the guys quite well over the summer through phone calls or just spending time,” Adams said. “But he wanted to spend a little bit of time in training camp, here on the ice and just being around those guys.”
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Sabres prospects Tyson Kozak (upper body), Norwin Panocha (upper body) and Simon-Pierre Brunet (undisclosed) all missed the first day of camp. Adams said Brunet is skating again.