Kyle Okposo
30 yrs. old
6'0" 220 lbs.
2006, 7th-overall (NYI)
Signed as a free agent July 1, 2016
Career stats: 670 games | 173 goals | 285 assists | 458 points | -101
The 2017-18 NHL season for Buffalo Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo is being widely regarded as a mulligan for the 30 yr. old. Okposo's health issues, stemming from treatment for a concussion, landed him in the intensive care unit in April, 2017 and as the off season hit, for him it wasn't about gearing up for the following season it was more about whether or not he'd ever be able to play the game again.
Okposo did recover and when he was seen skating in Da Beauty League, an annual charity tournament in his home state of Minnesota, there was a strong sense that everything would be OK with him. But in addition to losing the last chunk of the 2016-17 regular season, Okposo missed a lot of off-season workouts geared towards being ready for the upcoming season. And it affected him immensely.
"Last summer was just a lot about working on my mind and making sure I could play the game again," he told the gathered media after a recent informal workout with some team mates. "Now it's like, OK, I can play, let's get back to trying to be an elite player. That's something that I just didn't have the base last year and excited that I put the work in this summer to get it back.
"It was a big relief to where I could just train the way I want to and do the things that I know make me a successful hockey player."
The successes that Okposo had on the ice translated into career averages of 21 goals and 56 points per 82 games but last season he had only 15 goals and 44 points in 76 games. It took him six games to register his first point and 11 games to register his first goal and during the 2017 portion of the season, Okposo had scored only six goals and 16 points in 36 games.
After finishing the season strong, a pensive Okposo said at locker cleanout that the 2017-18 campaign for him was more about being able to play the NHL game again. "Looking back on this year, " he told the gathered media, "and looking back to where I was a year ago, all things considered I'm pretty happy that I played a full season.
"I didn't know if I was going to be able to at this time last year and honestly I wasn't even thinking about hockey at that time."
Considering that he did play a full season (minus a handful of games) and managed to produce nine goals and 28 points through the final 40 games while looking like old self in the process, a mulligan for the season is certainly warranted.
However, Okposo is now facing another hurdle--Father Time. The 30 yr. old is at a point where, generally speaking, players begin to decline. "I’ve been around this game awhile now," he said, "and you get on the other side of 30 and a lot of guys say, ‘Oh he’s past his prime’ and 'If he has a couple of bad years, he’s on the way down' and I’m very aware of that and seen it happen to many guys.
“I’m not going to be happy just riding off into the sunset."
Buffalo hopes he doesn't do that either as the contract he has with the Sabres still has five more years left on it (all with a modified no-trade clause,) at a $6 million cap-hit, which is second on the team only to Jack Eichel and his $10 million cap-hit that begins this year. GM Jason Botterill was left with a lot of dead weight by his predecessor and he doesn't need another anvil weighing his franchise down.
The good news is that Okposo started out his first year in Buffalo leading the team in scoring through 63 games with 43 points (19+24.) The bad new is that it all went downhill with his health issues. This year things are looking up and if he can hit his career averages it will be a pretty strong accomplishment for him.
Unless there is some problem with Sam Reinhart and his contract negotiations Okposo will probably be Buffalo's No. 2 right winger with rookie Casey Mittelstadt or veteran Patrick Berglund at center. In either instance he expects, and is expected, to succeed.
Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:
LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo
LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
G, Carter Hutton
Kyle Okposo 2017 locker cleanout via Sabres.com:
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