Kyle Okposo, who is playing his eighth season for the Buffalo Sabres, admitted his time with the team may be running out.
After a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and with the NHL trade deadline this Friday, a day before the Sabres’ next home game, Okposo was asked if he had considered whether he had just played his final home game with the Sabres, according to The Athletic.
“I mean, yeah, it did,” Okposo said. “We’ll see what happens. You never know. But it was definitely in the back of my mind coming off the ice.”
Okposo is the captain of the Sabres, having been named the 20th captain in franchise history before last season. In 514 games for Buffalo, he has scored 103 goals and 245 points.
Drafted by the New York Islanders with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, Okposo made his debut for the Islanders in 2007 and played 529 games over nine seasons. In 2016, he signed with the Sabres on a seven-year, $42 million contract. He played out his deal and signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract in May 2023 to return to the team for an eighth year.
At 29-29-4, the Sabres are 10 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. So with the Sabres almost assuredly destined to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for a 13th consecutive season — the team’s postseason drought is already the longest in league history — Buffalo may be inclined to extract some assets by moving its veteran winger, who turns 36 next month, to a contending team.
Okposo has scored 12 goals and 22 points this season, accumulating a +2 plus-minus in 59 games.
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