BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin doesn’t recall being this excited on NHL trade deadline day.
Having endured only losing during his previous seven seasons in Buffalo, the Sabres captain was practically giddy — “I’m fired up,” he said after practice Friday — about the team adding rather than unloading talent to what’s become a bona fide playoff contender.
“It’s a new thing for me. It feels like back in the days of Frolunda,” Dahlin said, referring to his days as a teenager playing for the Swedish Elite League team a decade ago.
“I mean, this is why you play hockey. This is what it should feel like,” he added. “This is the beginning for something great. I’m happy we’re finally here.”
Emphasis on finally.
A franchise in the midst of an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought is showing signs of an upward trajectory.
Buffalo entered the day tied with Tampa Bay atop the Atlantic Division standings and added depth to strengthen its playoff run. The surging Sabres are on a 26-5-2 roll following a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who took over in December, completed trades on Thursday to acquire defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley from Winnipeg and center Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers. Kekalainen then completed another trade with Winnipeg by adding journeyman forward Tanner Pearson on Friday.
And he did so without altering the Sabres' roster, with defenseman Jacob Bryson the only regular to depart.
“We have faith in the group. We don’t want to disrupt something that’s going really well — the chemistry, they have fun together, they believe in each other, they trust each other,” Kekalainen said. “But they’ve also put the work in. I think they’re all realizing it’s been paying off.”
The four players add experience — Schenn is a two-time Stanley Cup-winner — and grit to a young team whose players, for the most part, have never been in the thick of a playoff race.
“It’s exactly what we need,” said Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. “It’s unbelievable. We’re doing our job and he’s doing his job — Jarmo’s doing a great job.”
Kekalainen joined the Sabres as a senior adviser in May, and took over after Kevyn Adams was fired in mid-December. The 59-year-old from Finland previously spent 11 seasons as Columbus’ GM and carved out a reputation for making bold, aggressive moves.
He took that approach in the week leading up to the trade deadline, which included Buffalo agreeing to a framework of a trade to land St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko. The trade fell through when the Canadian Olympian invoked his no-trade clause to stay in St. Louis.
Kekalainen declined to go into much detail on Parayko, saying he doesn’t comment on what he called “unfinished business.” The vetoed move didn’t stop him from pursuing other trades to reward the Sabres for their run of success.
“They’ve earned all the help we can give them as management,” Kekalainen said.
Buffalo’s 37 wins are already one better than the team's total last year and the most through 62 games since the Sabres had 41 over that span in 2006-07. It was the same season in which the Sabres last won a playoff round in reaching the Eastern Conference finals before losing to Ottawa.
Lindy Ruff was the coach then and is now in the second year of his second stint in Buffalo.
“When I took the job, I said I wanted them to love being a Buffalo Sabre and love playing hockey,” Ruff said.
“We’ve learned a lot as a group through adversity, and we’ve got a long ways to go,” he added. “But the group has really come together, and it’s a tribute to all those guys in the room.”
Carrick is expected to join the team as early as Saturday, when Buffalo hosts the Nashville Predators. ... The former Jets players’ arrivals are uncertain, due in part to visa issues. ... Kekalainen said forward Juri Kulich will miss the remainder of the season while being treated for blood clots. Kulich has been out since early November. Kekalainen isn’t certain how much time he’ll miss in saying: “The doctors are hopeful this will get resolved before we prepare for next season.”
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Buffalo Sabres center Josh Norris (9) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with right wing Josh Doan, and center Noah Ostlund (86) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, left, celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with right wing Jack Quinn, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
CHICAGO (AP) — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader.
The public tribute — with appearances by Grammy-winning gospel singers and Jennifer Hudson — felt at times like a church service and others like a political rally. Many, from former President Bill Clinton to the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, likened Jackson’s death to a call to action, from speaking out against justice to voting in the midterms.
Former President Barack Obama said Jackson's presidential runs in the 1980s set the stage for other Black leaders, including his own successful 2009 presidency and reelection.
“The message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn’t any place or any room where we didn’t belong,” Obama said to the boisterous crowd of thousands. “He paved the road for so many others to follow."
The event drew a slew of elected U.S. leaders. Other notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and political activist and theologian Cornel West. Detroit Pistons great and Chicago native Isiah Thomas also spoke at the event that lasted five hours.
The crowd gave an especially warm welcome to Obama, who launched his political career in Chicago, and credited Jackson with keeping him on his toes. He said he was grateful to Jackson for providing a “legacy of hope" in contrast with the current Republican leadership in Washington.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama said. “Each day we wake up to some new assault to our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible.”
Clinton said Jackson made him a better president, while former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris talked about Jackson's inspiring 1980s presidential runs and showed off campaign memorabilia she had kept from them. Former President Joe Biden also spoke during the service.
President Donald Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after he died and also shared photos of the two of them, did not attend.
The event honoring the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate followed memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where Jackson was born. Friday’s celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — was the largest.
Attendees waited in long lines outside the church as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson’s most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his “I Am Somebody” mantra.
Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said Friday that she decided to attend for the "chance to be part of something historic.”
“As a Black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he’s worth honoring,” Bryan said.
Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"Every single person in here has a Jesse Jackson story,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said to the crowd. “The time he shook your hand, the time he prayed for you, the time he held you up, the time he prayed the funeral for somebody you know ... and he prayed you to a new course of existence.”
Sitting in the crowd was 90-year-old Mary Lovett. She said Jackson’s advocacy inspired her many times, from when she moved from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s, taught elementary school and became a mom. She voted for Jackson during his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people.
“He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives,” she said. “I hope we can remember what he tried to teach us.”
Jackson's pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, health care, job opportunities and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.
Sharpton, who considered the late reverend a lifelong mentor, said he hoped attendees would take home some of the “Jackson fire.”
“Don’t sit here so holy and sanctified and act like you have no assignment yourself,” he said to the increasingly boisterous crowd. “We didn’t come this far to turn around now.”
Another son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.
“He lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness,” he said. “He was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It’s not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center.”
A final homegoing service was scheduled for Saturday at Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda was denied by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents.
From left, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Jill Biden, and former President Joe Biden attend the Public Homegoing Service for Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A person stands during the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
From left, Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama, Jill Biden, and former President Joe Biden attend the Public Homegoing Service for Reverend Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People gather before the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives for the Public Homegoing Service at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson is seen before the Public Homegoing Service at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Veronica Edmonds waits on line to enter the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026.(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People stand on line before the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Lisa Fields waits on line to enter the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People stand on line to enter the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026.( (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People stand on line to enter the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026.((AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People pay their respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson inside the South Carolina Statehouse as he lies in state Monday, March 2, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, Pool)
Santita Jackson, daughter of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, left, speaks at Brookland Baptist Church during a tribute service honoring her late father Monday, March 2, 2026, in West Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
The casket of the Rev. Jesse Jackson is carried to the South Carolina Statehouse, where he will lie in state, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, Pool)
Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., hugs a mourner at a public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, attends his public visitation at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
