Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin is no stranger to controversy. He’s been through his fair share this season. But if there’s a common theme that the Sabres have espoused this year, it’s been unity.
And that’s something that can offer Maple Leafs fans some hope.
Last week, the Maple Leafs suffered a massive loss as Olympic gold medalist Auston Matthews went down after taking an egregious hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. The hit itself was bad enough, but it was the Leafs’ lack of reaction that drew the most ire.
That’s something the Sabres can relate to. Last season, the Sabres were in a similar situation when Tage Thompson took a dirty hit from the New Jersey Devils' Stefen Noesen. The lack of retaliation drew plenty of scrutiny from fans and the media.
It was also the linchpin that set the groundwork for this season. As Dahlin commented before the game against Toronto on Saturday, the club banded together and vowed such a thing would never happen again.
“Last year, we told each other, ‘This is never going to happen again.’ This year, we really worked on the team chemistry. Now it comes naturally. If someone does anything to one of the guys in here, I’ll protect them. That’s the commitment.”
Indeed, the Sabres are a completely different team. They have stuck together to become an unbeatable force.
That’s something that the Maple Leafs could find as a roadmap out of their struggles this season. While Toronto put up a solid fight against the Sabres on Saturday night, it was clear which team was better.
Since losing Matthews, the Leafs are 2-0-1. But beyond the subtext of the Maple Leafs' disastrous season, Dahlin offered Toronto a way out of their funk. It may take some time to turn things around. It seems the message got through to the Leafs, hitting home even if a little too late.
Dahlin drops secret on Sabres’ team chemistry
In his comments, Dahlin mentioned that the Sabres worked on their team chemistry. When asked about how the club managed to achieve it, he dropped a two-word secret:
“Drink beer.”
As comical as that sounds, it’s part of the ritual that all championship teams go through. The best teams, in any sport, are very good friends. There’s little, if any, animosity in the clubhouse. Issues and differences are resolved positively, quickly moving on from them before they fester.
That’s been the modus operandi for the Sabres this season. The club has not let on, and off-ice issues cloud their performance. They have banded in a way that we’ve not seen in a while. That disjointed, almost haphazard approach of years past is nowhere to be seen.
The Sabres have found a way in which every player has a role. Each role contributes to something greater. It’s the quintessential definition of the sum of the parts being greater than any individual one. That's the attitude that the Maple Leafs must embrace.
Sure, take out a piece, and the team suffers. But the club’s unity has allowed it to pick up the slack for anyone missing time. That's part of the spirit the Maple Leafshave been missing this season. The club has seemed overly reliant on one player or another. And when that player doesn't deliver, the entire lineup seemingly falls apart.
The Leafs seeming boost may be too late for this season. But the hope would be that the Maple Leafs can carry that chip on their shoulders into next season.