Kyle Okposo
The Buffalo Sabres signed Kyle Okposo to a massive contract on the first day of free agency in the summer of 2016. Coming off of his third 20 goal season with the New York Islanders, Okposo signed a 7 year, $42 million contract. Here are similar free agent signees from Summer 2016 and how they have performed in the previous two seasons.
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Kyle Okposo | 34 | 55 | 89 |
| Milan Lucic | 33 | 51 | 84 |
| David Backes | 31 | 40 | 51 |
| Loui Eriksson | 21 | 26 | 47 |
All statistics are from hockey-reference.com
The good news is that Okposo has been better than the other $6 million AAV from the 2016 free agent class. The bad news is that those other contracts are all widely considered bad contracts. With the second biggest contract on the team, the Sabres need more than the two sub-50 point seasons Okposo has had in Buffalo.
Kyle Okposo would not be denied. pic.twitter.com/IhfTAlajnf
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 6, 2016
Other than the concussion issue at the end of his first season in Buffalo, Okposo has been relatively healthy in Buffalo. Okposo’s style of play is going to cause him to miss a game here and there however he played 76 games last season, fifth most on the team.
Kyle Okposo remains a key piece to the offense for the 2018-19 season. Going into training camp, Okposo is projected to play at right wing on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and either Conor Sheary or Jeff Skinner. There is also going to be young guys in training camp looking to take some of the 17 minutes per game he played last season. Okposo’s contract is not moveable so he will need to return to the 60 point form he showed on Long Island.