BUFFALO – These days, following the most difficult time of his life, Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said he finds himself in a good place.

His fiancée, Carolina Matovac, is home recovering in Sweden after experiencing major heart failure early in the summer while vacationing in France and receiving life-saving CPR.

After spending weeks on life support, she received a heart transplant.

Dahlin, 25, draws inspiration watching her recovery.

“I see my fiancee work hard every day and that makes me very motivated,” he said following Friday’s session of training camp in KeyBank Center. “I’m good right now.”

Dahlin revealed the harrowing details in a letter posted Friday on Sabres.com.

“Carolina began to feel sick for a few days, which quickly turned into her experiencing major heart failure,” he wrote. “Fortunately, she received CPR on multiple occasions, and up to a couple of hours at a time to keep her alive, which ultimately saved her life. Without her receiving life-saving CPR, the result would have been unimaginable. It is hard to even think about the worst-case scenario.”

Right now, Matovac is rehabbing and working to join Dahlin in Buffalo.

“She has demonstrated an incredible determination, spirit, positivity, and resilience that I am in awe of,” he wrote. “This has undoubtedly been the most challenging chapter of our lives, however it is something that we have learned so much from. We will continue to grow from these experiences and are so grateful for all the love and support we have received. We are truly blessed in so many ways and fully realize how fortunate we are.”

In sharing their experience, Dahlin and Matovac hope “we can all appreciate our experiences, the people closest to us, and the importance of fully living each day.”

They also want to emphasize the importance of CPR treatment and training, organ donation and heart-related issues.

“We want to recognize the tireless and oftentimes thankless efforts of emergency and healthcare professionals everywhere,” he wrote. “We cannot say thank you enough to all organ donors, and are appreciative beyond words for the new life that organ donation has provided to Carolina.”

Dahlin surely feels extra comfort being back alongside his teammates and on the ice again.

“I can’t be more thankful for all of the support we’ve got,” the defenseman said. “I can’t be more thankful for how hard she works every day.”

Sporting a blue Sabres hoody and shorts and a white hat with the team’s name upside down, Dahlin spoke confidently and sounded upbeat during his 11-minute chat with the media.

As hard as it might be to believe, Dahlin is beginning his eighth NHL season. The Swede and winger Tage Thompson, 27, are the Sabres’ longest-tenured players.

Dahlin has emerged as perhaps the team’s strongest voice, regularly challenging himself and others to be better.

While he has developed into one of the NHL’s elite defensemen, he will always want more.

“I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with any place I get to,” Dahlin said.

The Sabres’ offseason moves – they added 6-foot-5 Michael Kesselring and 6-foot-3 Conor Timmins to the blue line – clearly excite him.

“It’s pretty cool to see Kevyn (Adams) and those guys, they like big defensemen that can skate and have a lot of skill, and it’s rare,” Dahlin said. “You see Kesselring, he’s huge, but he can skate, he can dangle, he can make plays. I mean, those guys, it’s hard to find, but we’ve done it, so I’m happy.”

The Sabres finished seventh in the Atlantic Division last season, far out of the playoffs, Still, their new defense corps could rank among the NHL’s best.

Dahlin finished seventh in the Norris Trophy voting last season. Owen Power and Bowen Byram both possess the talent to be No. 1 defensemen. After battling injuries and ineffectiveness, the Sabres believe Mattias Samuelsson has made significant strides.

Kesselring and Timmins elevate that group.

“Everyone can play with the puck,” Dahlin said. “Everybody is tall, tough to play against, hard. We’ve got the depth. We’ve got the skill. We want to be a good defending team this year. There are some great guys, too. They fit right into our locker room. I’m very pumped.”

– The Sabres on Friday assigned three draft picks – defensemen Simon-Pier Brunet and David Bedkowski and goalie Samuel Meloche – to their respective junior teams.

– The Sabres are scheduled to scrimmage for the first time this morning following practice.