It was an emotional moment for the Buffalo Sabres when they traded former captain Kyle Okposo to the Florida Panthers this past March. After the trade, Sabres' general manager Kevyn Adams was emotional and called Okposo an unbelievable person and selfless to the organization.
Now Okposo finds himself in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in his career. It was also the first time he played in the postseason since 2016 while he was with the New York Islanders.
For Okposo, the opportunity is not lost on him. A few weeks ago in an interview with NHL.com, he commented and how he feels about his chances this postseason. "It's 100 percent the best opportunity that I've had," Okposo said.
He also said that he has watched the playoffs pretty religiously over the past 25-30 years and he just loves playoff hockey. Unfortunately for the former Sabres captain, Kyle has never had a chance where he feels like he really has chance to win.
Many other former Sabres are currently on the Panthers roster joining Okposo. Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, Evan Rodrigues and Dmitri Kulikov are all currently competing for a chance to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. If they advance and win the Cup, they will join three members of the Las Vegas Golden Knights last season who won the title after playing with Buffalo.
For Okposo thus far in the Panthers playoff run, he's contributed two assists, one in each round. During the regular season, he had less ice time than with the Sabres, but was brought on by Florida for more than his ability on the ice.
In the same interview with NHL.com, Evan Rodrigues commented on Okposo's leadership. "It talks to his leadership. It talks to his will to win. He'll do whatever you need him to do, and I think he's been playing incredible."
During his time with Buffalo, Okposo penned many letters to the Sabres faithful about what work needed to be done to reach their goals. Now with a different team, it seems he's getting there. The Panthers will start their Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers on Friday, May 24th.