Kyle Okposo expected to be named the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres

Not only did Kyle Okposo have a good season, but he is now being viewed as a father figure on the Buffalo Sabres and he’s expected to be named the captain.

Tim Graham of The Athletic gave Buffalo Sabres fans a little tidbit yesterday. He dropped a hint of who will be the next captain.

Even though nothing is official, it makes complete sense. Kyle Okposo should be the next captain of the Sabres. After having a rebound season where he scored 21 goals and registered 24 assists in 74 games played last year according to NHL.com, it just gives more reasons for him to be the captain.

If you take away the stats, Okposo has the makings of being a captain. The 34 year old will be going into his 16th NHL season, so he definitely has the experience. As Sabres fans found out with the last captain, just because you’re the best player on the team doesn’t mean you have the mentality of being a captain.

With that being said, Okposo is the perfect choice to be Buffalo’s next captain. Going into next season, it will be the last year of his contract but even with him being an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-2023 season, there’s no one more deserving to have the C on the jersey than Kyle.

Why Kyle Okposo will be named the Buffalo Sabres next captain

There’s no secret that his career in Buffalo was full with ups and downs, so him being named captain would be very cool. I want to take this away from the hockey side for a minute. Back in May, the city of Buffalo experienced a tragic moment as there was a mass shooting in a supermarket. A few days after the shooting, most of the Buffalo sports teams athletes showed up to pay their respects and help out, including Kyle.

Just from the human aspect, Okposo is a great person and it’s just another reason why he’s the right choice. At the end of last season he won the Rick Martin Memorial Award, given to the Sabres player who embodies on-ice excellence, resiliency and dedication to the community. The other finalists for the award were Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner but the majority of the fanbase thought Okposo should get the award and he did.

Okposo embodies what it means to be a Buffalo Sabre. He bleeds blue and gold and genuinely about not only the team, but the city of Buffalo as well. His leadership is exactly what you want your to captain to be like and he’s down to Earth after a win or a loss.

As mentioned earlier, nothing is finalized yet but Kyle SHOULD be named the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)