Rasmus Dahlin reportedly signs monster deal with Sabres

According to a report from Buffalo Sabres insider Chad DeDominics earlier this offseason, the team was all set to sign star defenseman and former 1st overall pick Rasmus Dahlin to an eight year contract worth $10 million per season.

From DeDominics:

That was back in June however and the Sabres have still not pen to paper on a new deal with Dahlin. So... what gives?

Well, this morning former Sabres players Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet announced on their 'After Le Whistle' podcast that Dahlin is set to sign an even richer deal worth $10.5 million per season over eight years.

Now... here's the thing.

$84 million is a lot of money. Eight years is a long time. 

But if you don't think Dahlin is worth every penny then you simply haven't been paying close enough attention. The 23 year old blueliner has blossomed the past two years and put up an incredible 15 goals and 73 points in 78 games for the Sabres this season. He improved his +/- stats from -22 last season to +12 this season. He even garnered some Norris Trophy consideration, an award that I suspect he'll be in the running for every year for the next decade.

In other words, Dahlin is absolutely worth $10.5 million per season and this deal might even wind up looking like a steal if Dahlin's development continues into the prime of his career.