Player Discussion Rasmus Dahlin Part 4 - D (1st Overall, 2018, Frölunda HC, SHL)

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Dahlin does sound like he did have a conversation with Adams though.

Dahlin says, "I never said I wanted out of here. I thought that was pretty clear"

Who knows what was said.
Yes, Adams already talked about that conversation with Dahlin a couple times recently. This is not breaking news.

I'm assuming Dahlin said he's not happy with where they are and he probably talked about the roster as a big part of that, because it has to be.

I'm sure they also talked about things the players need to do better. And lots of other things.

This is the kind of conversation we should all assume is happening, because Adams and Dahlin and the rest are living, breathing human beings working together on a daily basis and that's what human beings at work do.
 
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Biz jumped the gun a bit.

It's confirmed that Adams and Dahlin met to discuss the future of the team and how unhappy Rasmus is with losing.

"I absolutely hate losing, and that's not part of who I want to be. Stuff has to change"

This is what players say a season or 2 before they request a trade after nothing has changed.

It's the tacit or implicit threat of asking for a trade if things don't change. Things have to change... or else. We all know it's implied even if the or else hasn't been said out loud yet.

If things haven't changed by the 2027 deadline Dahlin is gone. Book it.
 
Biz jumped the gun a bit.

It's confirmed that Adams and Dahlin met to discuss the future of the team and how unhappy Rasmus is with losing.

"I absolutely hate losing, and that's not part of who I want to be. Stuff has to change"

This is what players say a season or 2 before they request a trade after nothing has changed.

It's the tacit or implicit threat of asking for a trade if things don't change. Things have to change... or else. We all know it's implied even if the or else hasn't been said out loud yet.

If things haven't changed by the 2027 deadline Dahlin is gone. Book it.
Agreed. Dahlin is playing at maybe a tier below Norris level, and frankly if his team was up to par, he would be in discussion for a Norris. He has every right to go to the GM and say "why the hell am I continuing to bust my ass and produce and we dont have the depth to win games". There are 5 guys on this team generating offense consistently, Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch, Peterka, Power. Everyone else is not good enough right now. That's a problem, and Adams has to fix it.
 
Good for Dahlin to clear this up, but all this negative publicity in general is draining and I’m sick of this s***. It would be one thing if the negative publicity led to meaningful changes, but that’s not looking like it will happen anytime soon so it’s just an endless cycle of the same B.S. over and over again.
 
Good for Dahlin to clear this up, but all this negative publicity in general is draining and I’m sick of this s***. It would be one thing if the negative publicity led to meaningful changes, but that’s not looking like it will happen anytime soon so it’s just an endless cycle of the same B.S. over and over again.

Feeling that too.
 
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It's nice he made it clear that he wanted to stay, but the writing appears to be on the wall. Not sure how much more losing he can endure. I doubt the next meeting they have will end with the same sentiments.
 
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I didn’t believe it because why bother telling Adams? He’s been here five years and is incompetent. You tell the owner. Who is also incompetent but is the one who is closing the purse strings and retaining the GM who has failed every year.

Glad he so forcefully denied it

Also hope there’s enough truth to it that massive scale changes happen
 
Dahlin does sound like he did have a conversation with Adams though.

Dahlin says, "I never said I wanted out of here. I thought that was pretty clear"

Who knows what was said.

Yeah, I certainly take his response to mean he’s talked to Adams and wants to start winning more. I also take it he wants to start winning more *here* in Buffalo and isn’t looking for greener pastures elsewhere.

Maybe that eventually changes if the Sabres are in the same spot a year or 2 from now, but at least for now our captain wants to be part of the solution and not a new, different problem.
 
Here's what I'll say about the BS rumor: even if Dahlin is asking to be traded because he's unhappy with the direction of the team.... the answer is a hard NO.

The Sabres are under no obligation to trade him and should not trade him under any circumstances. If he's unhappy about that, too bad. The only reason I supported trading Eichel was because of the injury situation and impasse about the surgery. Trading Reinhart made sense because he was going to be a FA and wasn't going to re-sign, especially after it was clear we'd be trading Eichel.

Dahlin is under contract. If I was the GM, you could not make me trade him for anything. I would feel urgency to improve the team around him, and I would do everything in my power to keep him happy, but I would not trade him.
 
Dahlin is under contract. If I was the GM, you could not make me trade him for anything. I would feel urgency to improve the team around him, and I would do everything in my power to keep him happy, but I would not trade him.
And what if that isn’t going to happen?

In this hypothetical where his team stays at the bottom and continues to employ an unqualified buffoon as GM and refuses to spend on upgrades…

I’m on the player’s side.

This organization is one extreme circumstance of not only failing to be competitive…but failing to TRY to be competitive.

If a player tells this owner or GM to go f*** themselves…I’m on their side.
 
Biz jumped the gun a bit.

It's confirmed that Adams and Dahlin met to discuss the future of the team and how unhappy Rasmus is with losing.

"I absolutely hate losing, and that's not part of who I want to be. Stuff has to change"

This is what players say a season or 2 before they request a trade after nothing has changed.

It's the tacit or implicit threat of asking for a trade if things don't change. Things have to change... or else. We all know it's implied even if the or else hasn't been said out loud yet.

If things haven't changed by the 2027 deadline Dahlin is gone. Book it.
It's not a big deal to have a chat with your boss or even the ceo or owner when things go bad and you are frustrated.
I think there is zero tactics from Dahlin's side, he's just invested and wants to make sure there isn't a 4th rebuild (3rd for him).
I'm sure he wants to become a one team legend like the heroes he grew up with.

When it comes to the implicit threat it might as well be that he will try to force change in any way possible. Making threats during communication or negotiation is extremely taboo in Sweden. When you say something at work you mean it and better stand by those words. Thankfully Dahlin has been straightforward with the media afterwards.
 
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And what if that isn’t going to happen?

In this hypothetical where his team stays at the bottom and continues to employ an unqualified buffoon as GM and refuses to spend on upgrades…

I’m on the player’s side.

This organization is one extreme circumstance of not only failing to be competitive…but failing to TRY to be competitive.

If a player tells this owner or GM to go f*** themselves…I’m on their side.
So if the team doesn't get better you'll support making the team substantially worse for years to stick it to the man?

What I want is for the team to get better as quickly as possible. Trading Dahlin makes that impossible, regardless of who the GM is at the time. I believe a good GM like Bill Zito, for example, would see it my way and refuse to trade Dahlin.
 
So if the team doesn't get better you'll support making the team substantially worse for years to stick it to the man?

What I want is for the team to get better as quickly as possible. Trading Dahlin makes that impossible, regardless of who the GM is at the time. I believe a good GM like Bill Zito, for example, would see it my way and refuse to trade Dahlin.

If I were Dahlin and you were the GM in this situation, I would tell you that I'm not playing for you and I'll be in Sweeden with the $33mil you've already paid me. You can call my agent when you have a viable trade to discuss and I will not be waiving my NTC until there is a trade that works for me.

How do you think that would work out for you? How well did the Sabres do when Dahlin went out for a couple of weeks? 14 games winless streak.

If Dahlin asks to be traded, he's gone. The Sabers have very little leverage.
 
If I were Dahlin and you were the GM in this situation, I would tell you that I'm not playing for you and I'll be in Sweeden with the $33mil you've already paid me. You can call my agent when you have a viable trade to discuss and I will not be waiving my NTC until there is a trade that works for me.

How do you think that would work out for you? How well did the Sabres do when Dahlin went out for a couple of weeks? 14 games winless streak.

If Dahlin asks to be traded, he's gone. The Sabers have very little leverage.

Easier said than done to leave 75 million on the table.
 
Bottom line Dahlin just blew up Adams' and Pegula's little hockey bubble. Those two ass clowns can stand around reassuring each other that the path they've chosen is the correct one, but when your franchise player basically proclaims to the media "WTF are we doing here in Buffalo?" it's a shot across the bow to both management and ownership.

Like I've been saying, Adams is f***ing toast and Dahlin just drove the last nail into his coffin.
 

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