Annual expectations thread 2023/24: #26 Rasmus Dahlin

[dudacek]

Had Don Granato forced Dahlin to rest and rehabilitate during a 3-week stretch in March he would have finished the season with 71 points and a +28 in 66 games. Playing through an obvious injury for those 12 games (2 points, -16) likely cost Dahlin a Norris trophy nomination. Even with that stretch, his charts ranked among the best of the NHL’s best on both sides of the puck.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=201658

Many expect Rasmus to sign a new long-term deal prior to the start of the season that will cement him as the team’s centrepiece for the remainder of this decade. He is still just 23 years old but has five seasons under his belt and has already forced himself into a small circle of elite NHL defencemen. All that’s left to do is to establish himself and his team as a winner so he gets the same benefit of the doubt the league’s other top defensemen do.

What do you expect from Dahlin this year?
(Last year’s takes here)

 

[Broken Ankles]

[French Collection]

This is his team.

He has been building toward being the best defenseman in the game and he is close.

I predict he will be a Norris trophy finalist. The rest of the league needs to realize that he brings the offense like Quinn Hughes, he has the all around game of Hedman and that he can hit like Gudas.

[mjd1001]

Stay healthy the whole year, hopefully with his ice time being brought down slightly so he doesn't get injured or wear down at the end of the year, and to play as and be recognized as a top five defensement in the league 

[LGR4GM]

He'll be the best defencemen in the league. 

[JustOneParade]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

He'll be the best defencemen in the league. 

Agreed. And still won't win the Norris .....

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

He'll be the best defencemen in the league. 

And he won't have to carry the team on his shoulders. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He will be the top D in the NHL.  Even the NHL will not be able to deny it and he will win the Norris.

[dudacek]

Maybe I’m been out in the sun too much this summer, but the kid has become everything we hoped he would be when he was drafted. He’s not just one of the NHL’s best defencemen, he’s one of its best players.

The rest of the league hasn’t caught up yet because Buffalo, but barring injury they will by season’s end.

[JohnC]

I think most of the hockey analysts recognize that right now Dahlin is one of the better players in the league. He was added as a replacement player for last year's all-star game. So there is a league recognition of his talents One of the reasons that a lot of fans are not aware of him is that the team he has played on has been non-descript for a long time. Hopefully, that will soon change. 

[dudacek]

19 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I think most of the hockey analysts recognize that right now Dahlin is one of the better players in the league. He was added as a replacement player for last year's all-star game. So there is a league recognition of his talents One of the reasons that a lot of fans are not aware of him is that the team he has played on has been non-descript for a long time. Hopefully, that will soon change. 

Not disagreeing with you, just taking it a step further.

Dahlin is beyond the "late addition to the all-star game" tier. He's reached perennial candidate for season-ending all-star team tier.

I believe he is paying a penalty in terms of public perception for being on a also-ran team. He doesn't play in a major market, isn't the poster child of a major network property and hasn't been showcased on major stage like the Stanley Cup playoffs. he's also not far removed from the stink of Krueger and how it affected both his play and the perception of the team.

it's the flip side of the same coin that at sees Matthews always lumped in with McDavid instead of Pastrnak, and Makar being a Norris finalist despite a season where other players surpassed him in nearly every statistical measurable.

His big new contract will put more eyes on him, but the only real way to change it is for the team to be good enough that you force each other into that conversation.

Edited September 6, 2023 by dudacek

[RochesterExpat]

Curious if the number of nationally televised games will impact this as well.

[Norcal]

Play up to the new contract

Score 20 goals and 80 points

Win the Norris