Despite his age, Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo has put together a solid year and has been a consistent presence on the fourth line. So far in 2023-24, Okposo is tied for ninth on the team with 14 points in 38 contests. His eight goals rank seventh in the group, so it’s safe to say the 35-year-old captain has seen a bit of a resurgence in 2023-24.
Unfortunately, he will put things on hold for at least the next week, as he is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. This injury occurred during the Sabres 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, and although Okposo managed to continue playing in that contest, he ultimately won’t see action for the foreseeable future.
Even more unfortunate is the fact Buffalo just got Zemgus Girgensons back that same night. Girgensons had been shelved with his own lower-body injury since the Sabres come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 24th.
Buffalo Sabres captain will miss time as the head coach returns
While losing their team captain for the time being is an unfortunate blow to the Sabres, they will have their head coach Don Granato back in action after he missed two games with an illness. Rochester Americans head coach Seth Appert played the role of substitute during Granato’s absence, and led the Sabres to a 1-1-0 record.
In his postgame comments from the other day, Appert was quick to diagnose the Buffalo Sabres issues, so we’ll see if Granato, in his return to the bench, can help the Blue and Gold get better at surrounding the blue paint. Regardless, Granato must help the Sabres find ways to win games as they find their backs pinned against the boards with hardly any room for error as the new year begins.
We’ll see what the Sabres do later this week to replace Okposo, and since the captain has gone down, someone must step up and take a leadership role for this team. We will see how things play out when Buffalo kicks off Week 13 against the Montreal Canadiens.
(Statistics and information provided by Hockey-Reference)