Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin Takes Leave of Absence After Fiancee's Heart Transplant

Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin is taking a temporary leave of absence in order to address "a personal matter" in Sweden, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters Friday.

The news comes about a month after Dahlin revealed in an open letter that his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, had received a heart transplant after suffering major heart failure this summer.

"I will say this, he said everything is okay," Ruff said. "And through this, he's got full support by our team."

Ruff added that there is "no timeframe" for Dahlin's return.

Dahlin has appeared all 14 games of the Sabres' 5-5-4 start to the season. He recorded one goal and eight assists while averaging 24:27 on the first defense pairing during that span.

The Sabres, however, have been so far outscored 12-7 when he is on the ice at even strength.

Dahlin said he was "not satisfied" with his play to start the season when speaking to reporters Thursday night after a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

"I think it's been incredibly hard," Ruff said Friday about Dahlin's ability to stay focused while remaining so far from his fiancée amid her recovery.

Ruff continued, "I don't think you can describe it, and I don't think you can feel what he's feeling. I'm pretty passionate about the fact that no one would want to walk in his shoes and have to dealt with what he dealt with.

"So he has undoubtedly got the support of everybody on this. This is larger than hockey."

Dahlin wrote in the open letter published Sept. 19 by the Sabres that Matovac began to feel sick while the couple was vacationing in France during the summer.

She then suffered heart failure, necessitating multiple rounds of CPR last "up to a couple of hours at a time to keep her alive," Dahlin wrote.

Matovac then spent "weeks" on life support in a French hospital before she received her heart transplant, according to Dahlin.

Dahlin wrote at the time his fiancée was "recovering well and on the path to a full recovery" while "still working through her rehab to return to be with me in Buffalo."

The Sabres drafted Dahlin with the first pick of the 2018 NHL draft and named him captain ahead of the 2024-25 season. The 25-year-old is skating in his eighth campaign as a key part of Buffalo's blue line.