3 ways Kyle Okposo helps the Buffalo Sabres in 2023-24

Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres reached a deal to bring their captain, Kyle Okposo back for another run in 2023-24. How does he help the Blue and Gold?

Watching captain Kyle Okposo playing on the Buffalo Sabres this past season, it’s safe to say he was noticeably slower on the fourth line. And though he brought a sound level of leadership and physicality to the team, many wondered whether this would be it for the captain.

As it turned out, Okposo is back for another year, looking to finally help catapult the Sabres into the playoffs. But given his age and diminished speed, does he really help the Blue and Gold? The answer is yes, he helps them in the following areas.

How Kyle Okposo helps the Buffalo Sabres

1 – Leadership

While I believe the likes of Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin, and Dylan Cozens are more than ready to take the next step in their respective leadership roles, Kyle Okposo showed time and again that his ability to lead played an important role in the Buffalo Sabres improvement over the past two years. No one is better with the team’s youngest players, and the Sabres have a lot of them, so it makes sense as to why general manager Kevyn Adams brought the captain back.

Okposo won’t be around forever, though. So think of his 2023-24 contract as more of a transition than anything else, and without a doubt, Tuch, Dahlin, Cozens, and perhaps others will make an even smoother transition into becoming leaders next year.

2 – Experience

Okposo is a 16-year veteran, and he’s seen just about everything this league can throw at you. If any curveballs hit the Sabres over the course of their 82-game schedule, and they can kindly expect them, Okposo’s experience in such situations, or similar situations, will help them weather the storm(s).

Further, if the Sabres need an experienced chess piece on the ice for any reason, Okposo will be their go-to. No, his skills aren’t going to produce much, but he can command from behind if need be.

3 – Depth

This season, don’t expect Okposo to play as often as he did in 2022-23, when he appeared in 75 contests. Instead, I’m expecting head coach Don Granato to instead place Okposo into a role similar to the one we saw from Craig Anderson last season.

Anderson, who retired at the end of 2022-23, played in roughly one game per week, two tops, and you can expect the same from a player that will probably be the 12th forward when he plays, but more likely, the 13th overall. This will also keep the captain fresh if he needs to see an extended period of playing time later in the season because of possible injuries.

Source: Sabres captain Kyle Okposo signs one-year, $2.5 million deal to return next season by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)