Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin takes leave from team as fiancée recovers from heart transplant

Buffalo Sabres skipper Rasmus Dahlin has taken an indefinite permission of lack from the squad conscionable months aft his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, underwent a bosom transplant, the squad announced Friday.

Head manager Lindy Ruff spoke to reporters Friday and shared that Matovac had not suffered immoderate setbacks, but that Dahlin would beryllium traveling to Sweden arsenic she continues to recover.

Carolina Matovac and Rasmus Dahlin (26) of the Buffalo Sabres airs connected the reddish carpet astatine the Metro Toronto Convention Centre successful Toronto, Ontario, Canada, connected Feb. 1, 2024. (Nicole Osborne/NHLI via Getty Images)

"[Dahlin] said everything is OK," helium said, via ESPN. "I deliberation it's been incredibly hard. I afloat recognize what this young antheral is going through. I don't deliberation you tin picture it. I'm precise passionate astir the information that nary 1 would privation to locomotion successful his shoes and to person dealt with what helium has dealt with. He has the enactment of everybody connected this. This is larger than hockey."

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Ruff said determination was nary timetable for Dahlin’s return.

In an unfastened missive to fans successful September, Dahlin shared that Matovac had been feeling sick for respective days, which led to her experiencing "major bosom failure."

"Fortunately, she received CPR connected aggregate occasions, and up to a mates of hours astatine a clip to support her alive, which yet saved her life. Without her receiving lifesaving CPR, the effect would person been unimaginable. It is hard to adjacent deliberation astir the worst-case scenario," helium wrote.

Matovac remained connected beingness enactment for weeks earlier receiving the transplant successful France.

Rasmus Dahlin (26) of the Buffalo Sabres skates during the archetypal play against the Philadelphia Flyers astatine KeyBank Center successful Buffalo, New York, connected April 17, 2025. (Rebecca Villagracia/Getty Images)

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"Without the unthinkable commitment, expertise, care, and sensitivity of each the radical who treated Carolina, we would not beryllium successful the presumption that we are successful today, with Carolina recovering good and connected the way to a afloat recovery."

"While Carolina is inactive moving done her rehab to instrumentality to beryllium with maine successful Buffalo, she has demonstrated an unthinkable determination, spirit, positivity, and resilience that I americium successful awe of," Dahlin continued. "This has undoubtedly been the astir challenging section of our lives, nevertheless it is thing that we person learned truthful overmuch from. We volition proceed to turn from these experiences and are truthful grateful for each the emotion and enactment we person received. We are genuinely blessed successful truthful galore ways and afloat recognize however fortunate we are."

Rasmus Dahlin (26) of the Buffalo Sabres prepares for a faceoff during an NHL crippled against the New York Rangers astatine KeyBank Center successful Buffalo, New York, connected Oct. 9, 2025. (Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

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Dahlin, 25, is entering his eighth NHL play aft being selected archetypal wide by Buffalo successful the 2018 draft. The Swedish defenseman has topped 50 points successful each of his past 4 seasons and was selected to correspond his state astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Italy.

He has 9 points successful 14 games this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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