Sabres avoid crisis with injury to star player, former captain retires

Yesterday, we received bad news regarding Buffalo Sabres star player Rasmus Dahlin, who left the team’s first practice with an injury. Since there was no immediate update, we didn’t know what to expect, but it looks like Dahlin won’t miss much time unless there’s an unforeseen setback. 

That said, it’s crisis averted on the injury front for now, but it serves as a reminder of just how quickly a team’s optimism can go to the wayside with one of its most important players sustaining an ailment so early. But, as is often the case with camp injuries, it’s also not unheard of to hold a star player like Dahlin out so he can be 100 percent for when the games start to matter next month. 

Let’s hope Dahlin’s mini-scare is the only one we’ll have in the preseason, as the Sabres can’t afford to get hit hard with injuries early like they did last year. If you remember, it seemed like they were always calling someone up from the Rochester Americans in October and November to compensate for the number of injuries that plagued the team. 

Sabres dodge injury scare while a former captain calls it quits

Meanwhile, a former Sabres captain has hung up the skates. Kyle Okposo wore the C in 2022-23 and for most of last season until general manager Kevyn Adams traded him to the Florida Panthers. As you know, Okposo won the Stanley Cup during his brief stint in Sunrise, and he can now officially say he retired as a champion. 

Okposo played for eight seasons in Buffalo, but he was unable to help lead the team to the playoffs. He appeared in 516 games for the Blue and Gold, scoring 103 goals and 245 points. 

He was never a spectacular player in Buffalo, but he played a key role as a mentor during his twilight years in the City of Good Neighbors, ultimately helping to transform the team from one of the NHL’s most irrelevant franchises and into one that was a serious contender for the postseason in 2023. 

Overall, Okposo will never go down as one of the best to play the game, but he still put together a solid 17-year NHL career, and that’s more than what most pro hockey players can claim. I wish for nothing but the best for Okposo as he enters a new phase in his career - retiring from one, but without a doubt likely to start another.