Buffalo Sabres: Can Kyle Okposo repeat 2021-22 production?

Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo put together a renaissance outing in 2021-22. Will he continue that trend in 2022-23 on the lower lines?

Between 2019-20 and 2020-21, Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo scored 11 goals in 87 contests. 2020-21 was especially abysmal, as he logged just a 4.4 shooting percentage. And while the Sabres were the league’s laughingstock that season, it also looked as though Okposo’s days were numbered in the Queen City.

Then in 2021-22, Okposo’s and the entire team’s fortunes turned, and his 45-point outing was the presumptive team captain’s best since scoring 44 points in 2017-18. Better yet, he hadn’t logged over 20 goals since 2015-16.

So with a young Sabres team that is one season older and smarter, and with two more young forwards potentially joining the main roster, can Okposo repeat last season’s success? Let’s find out.

Kyle Okposo will be a prominent leader for the Buffalo Sabres, but he will have a tough time producing in 2022-23.

With the youth transition still ongoing in Buffalo, Okposo will most likely see time on the fourth line with occasional appearances on the third. In 2021-22, his average time on ice sat at 16:47, his highest in four seasons. But now that the future has arrived in Buffalo, expect Okposo to revert to seeing under 14 minutes of ice time per game.

This will limit his opportunities. But he has built chemistry with Zemgus Girgensons offensively, an older center/winger who will also play on the fourth line. So it is premature to think Okposo will revert to scoring under 25 points next season.

Instead, I expect him to remain somewhere in the 30-35-point range. With roughly 10-15 goals and 20 assists. On paper, it looks as though he will regress, though I expect his shooting percentage to remain in the double-digits.

This is a role that will suit Okposo just fine. At 34 and playing for a team full of youthful, inexperienced talent, Okposo knows himself and other older players will be taking a back seat. But you can expect his leadership to remain top-quality.

No, he won’t be the same player he was in 2021-22 from a production standpoint. But this will simply come with lesser ice time as the likes of Jack Quinn, J.J. Peterka, and other younger talent take more prominent roles on the main roster.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)