Buffalo Sabres captain and star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence from the team, head coach Lindy Ruff announced today . There is currently no timetable on how long Dahlin will be away from the team. The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn noted that the absence is for Dahlin to return to Sweden, his home country, to be with fiancée, Carolina Matovac.

In September, Dahlin and Matovac jointly announced that Matovac had undergone a heart transplant over the summer following a traumatic health scare while travelling in Europe. In the letter, Dahlin said “this has undoubtedly been the most challenging chapter of our lives” and expressed gratitude for those who supported them at the time.

Per The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington , Ruff told the media that “things are going

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