The Buffalo Sabres finally broke through to the playoffs this past season. High-profile free agency moves were not the story the previous offseason. It is interesting now to look back at certain signings and if they panned or didn't pan out during the playoff drought.
Kyle Okposo was one of those signings. The right-winger signed a high-priced contract worth over $40 million in 2016. He was a top-line scorer before signing with the Sabres as a member of the New York Islanders.
He was meant to continue that stretch with Buffalo. He started well being named All-Star in 2017. However, his production slowly declined while with the organization. He was not able to replicate his scoring chances while with the Islanders.
The contract itself maybe led to the Sabres having to look at other bargain signings while he was a member of the team. They also could not get him to succeed with Ryan O'Reilly or Jack Eichel during his tenure.
It is surprising when they did succeed. In early 2018, the team had a 10-game winning streak. Eichel, O'Reilly and Okposo have hoisted the Stanley Cup since leaving the Sabres. If he was able to duplicate his prior 60-point seasons in New York, they could have broken the drought sooner with a strong winger and maybe would not have traded O'Reilly in 2018. It's a domino effect.
In the 2022-23 season, Okposo had 28 points. If he could have had a little more offensive production they may have made the postseason, missing it by a single point in the standings.
Kyle Okposo, due to point decline and injuries, became more of a mentor than an impact player for the Sabres
He did transition to a veteran mentor after it was realized we would not continue his scoring form. The last few years while he was with the Sabres, it was clear he was working on molding younger Sabres such as Rasmus Dahlin during their early seasons.
In 2022, Okposo was named captain of the team and it maybe that he demonstrated to Dahlin how to lead the team both on and off the ice. Dahlin has emerged as a leader for the Sabres now. Without Okposo's leadership it may be that Dahlin would not have emerged as what he has become since.
Despite his scoring disappointment, Okposo was popular among the fanbase. The Sabres traded him late into 2024 to give him a chance to win a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. He had two assists en route to helping the Panthers win the Cup that year.
There were negatives to his contract that may have hampered the Sabres for a few seasons. But his leadership ability did pave the way for players such as Dahlin to get back to the postseason this year.
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