Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is hoping that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will be able to join the team at practice tomorrow in a non-contact capacity (as per Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald). The former first-overall pick left just a few minutes into the Sabres first practice last week and has not skated with the team since. Dahlin skated this morning before the team did and does appear ready to take the next step in his short recovery.
The Sabres will likely compete for a playoff spot this season and will need a healthy Dahlin in order to have a chance. The 24-year-old has been remarkably durable during his six-year NHL career, only missing seven games over the past four seasons and just 17 games during his entire NHL career.
In other evening notes:
- The Los Angeles Kings could be on the hunt for some help on their fourth line (as per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period). The Kings don’t currently have a fourth-line center set in stone and have been rotating different options through that spot thus far in training camp. Bernstein wonders if Kings general manager Rob Blake will begin to search the market to see if there is a player that could be brought in. Bernstein doesn’t specify whether that could be the trade market or one of the current free agents on a PTO, but it looks as though the Kings aren’t comfortable with any of their internal options for the role.
- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to the media today and poured cold water on the rumors that the NHL is looking at expansion (as per Adam Laskaris of Daily Hive Toronto). Bettman called the rumors “categorically false,” and said that the NHL is not looking to expand at the moment. Bettman did concede that he would be updating the NHL’s Board of Governors on the cities that have expressed interest in getting an NHL team, but beyond that, there would be no further action at this time.