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Kyle Okposo

Evening Notes: Boeser, IIHF/Russia, NHLPA Leadership

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After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.

One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.

Injury Notes: Sabres, Canucks Illnesses, Aho, Capitals

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Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned for the Buffalo Sabres to start this season, the team coming into tonight with a 14-14-2 record thus far, tying them with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens for the bottom three positions in the Atlantic Division. There are some bright spots, such as the further breakouts of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, or that record being partially influencex by an eight game losing streak that came with zero points, and there are reasons for the struggles, such as poor goaltending and a myriad of injury issues. Those injury issues continue to persist, but with injuries does come injury updates and the Sabres were able to provide a few of those today.

Forwards Jeff Skinner, who was suspended, and Kyle Okposo, will both rejoin the lineup tonight, reports Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Okposo had only missed one game, Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche, but has dealt with his share of injuries this season. Harrington adds that defensemen Owen Power and Jacob Bryson, who both missed Thursday’s game will not play this evening. Fortunately for Power, he’s only considered day-to-day, however Bryson has been shutdown for the remainder of the road trip and will be re-evaluated when the team gets home. Their road trip concludes Monday in Vegas. Lastly, per Harrington, defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who is currently on IR and hasn’t played since November 28th, is still not ready to return.

  • The Vancouver Canucks could be down a pair of star forwards this evening, with both Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser under the weather according to Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor, who spoke with head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boeser also missed Wednesday’s game with an illness and while Pettersson did not, recall that he had actually been sent home from practice on Sunday after showing up sick. Even with the turmoil surrounding Boeser and the likelihood that he ends up being dealt this season, Vancouver will need both players in the lineup with the hope that they can produce and get their season back on track going forward. Boeser has 16 points in 22 games thus far, while Pettersson appears to be taking the next step with 34 points in 29 games to date.
  • Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who has been out of the lineup since December 6th with a lower-body injury will not play tonight against the Dallas Stars or tomorrow afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, says Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff, who spoke with head coach Rod Brind’Amour prior to tonight’s game. On a positive note, Brind’Amour added that Aho was on the ice earlier today, indicating a return could be sooner rather than later. Interestingly, Carolina has done just fine without Aho in the lineup, going 3-0-0 in the process, including back-to-back shutouts of the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings. Obviously, the team would still prefer to get one of the NHL’s very best centers back into their lineup as soon as possible, especially considering schedule doesn’t get any easier after tomorrow, facing the New Jersey Devils and the Penguins again this week.
  • Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.

Injury Notes: Bryson, Lafferty, Chinakhov

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The Buffalo Sabres updated a few injuries today, with some good and bad news coming along. Kyle Okposo will be back in the lineup tonight, and Rasmus Asplund is only out day-to-day. Unfortunately, Jacob Bryson is on the shelf on a week-to-week basis after leaving Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury.

Some Sabres fans may argue it’s no big loss, given how Bryson has played of late – his usage has been steadily declining – but losing defensive depth is never a positive. The 25-year-old was a solid piece for Buffalo last season and despite recent challenges, is still an important player to keep in the mix. The Sabres will take on the New Jersey Devils tonight, a tough task (especially after the chaos that surrounded New Jersey’s last game).

Morning Notes: Thanksgiving Standings, Sabres Injuries, Rodrigues

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A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our U.S. readers! Thanksgiving, in any country, is a date with great significance for many of the same reasons: a chance to reflect and be thankful. However, in the hockey world, Thanksgiving in the U.S. brings another note of significance: playoffs. Sure, it’s early, most teams playing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 games, but history dictates that teams in the playoffs today are likely to be there after 82 games, and teams that are not, probably won’t be playing after their 82 are finished. In fact, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards tweets that roughly 76% of teams in a playoff position on Thanksgiving keep it. So, it begs the question: which teams on the outside looking in today will make the playoffs?  And who might lose their spot?

In the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the New York Rangers holding the first Wild Card spot and the Tampa Bay Lightning tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second spot. In the West, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, and Los Angeles Kings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the Calgary Flames holding the first Wild Card spot, followed by a four-way tie for second place between the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and Nashville Predators. Will the standings hold? Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation points out, 12 of the 16 teams in playoff position this time last year ultimately clinched a berth.

  • The Buffalo Sabres should get a pair of wingers back shortly, says Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat. Per Sabres head coach Don Granato, Rasmus Asplund, who’s listed as day-to-day may have been able to play last night, but given his physical style of play, it was better to let him continue to rest. Captain Kyle Okposo, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, skated on his own Wednesday and is expected to join the team on Friday for their morning skate. After losing eight straight, the Sabres have now won two in a row. Getting their full lineup back on the ice should, hopefully, help them continue on this winning path.
  • Colorado Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues left last night’s game early with what appeared to be a lower-body injury and was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the game. From Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar says Rodrigues will be further evaluated today. One of the newest members of the Avalanche, Rodrigues has fit in with Colorado nicely since coming over in free agency this summer, registering six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.

Evening Notes: Wright, Okposo, Konecny, Kochetkov

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It hasn’t been the start to his career that many thought it would be for Shane Wright. At times thought to be the consensus number one overall pick in the 2022 draft, Wright slipped to number four, selected by the Seattle Kraken. Given Seattle’s continued push to build and add more veteran scoring to the lineup and the state of Wright’s development, a return to the OHL seemed possible, if not likely, at the start of this season. Instead, the Kraken elected to keep Wright around. That decision wasn’t what has raised many eyebrows though, instead Seattle’s choice to scratch Wright in a majority of their games and give him little ice time when they have played him, has drawn some confusion from around the league.

Tonight on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek attempted to shed light on what Seattle may be planning for and what fans might be able to expect going forward. As Marek explains, the team needs to make Wright a healthy scratch five games in a row in order to be able to send him on a 14-day conditioning stint in the AHL (much like the Los Angeles Kings and Brandt Clarke are doing right now). The team tried to do this earlier in the season, but got cut off after four games due to a Jared McCann injury and needed to reset the clock, Marek believes. Tonight would mark Wright’s fifth game in a row scratched after the reset, which could allow for the forward to be sent on a conditioning stint tomorrow with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s AHL affiliate, where he could play in five AHL games before being recalled on December 4th. After that, Seattle has just one game before camp opens up for Team Canada for the World Junior Championships, where Seattle could opt to send Wright. This plan isn’t set in stone or even confirmed by Seattle, but is interesting logic, as Marek suggests.

  • Also from tonight’s 32 Thoughts, Marek touches on Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $42MM contract he signed during the 2016 offseason. When the team named him captain just before the start of the season, both sides appeared interested in continuing their relationship with one another. Even if true, Marek says that neither side is currently in a hurry to get an extension done. That doesn’t necessarily mean a new deal to keep Okposo in Buffalo won’t happen, but could point to both sides wanting to avoid distraction, especially as the team struggles, losing their eighth game in a row tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, or to simply give both sides more clarity on Okposo’s specific value. Once a star in the NHL, Okposo’s production dropped off significantly over the life of this contract, but a recent bounce-back has breathed new life into Okposo’s career.
  • Marek also discussed the upper-body injury to Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny. It’s believed Konecny suffered the injury Thursday and was ruled out of tonight’s game. Losing their points leader, even for one game, was bad enough for the Flyers, but now according to Marek, Konecny is expected to miss a couple of weeks, if not longer. The Flyers, who have outperformed expectations this season, have done so in large part thanks to Konecny’s 19 points in 17 games.
  • Per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has switched agents. The netminder will now be represented by agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. Milstein manages a number of high-profile NHLers, but is perhaps best known for representing a large portion of the NHL’s Russian players, which would now include the exciting Hurricanes prospect. The 23-year-old has played in just five NHL games in his career, nine counting the playoffs, but is in the final year of his entry-level contract.

East Notes: Lajoie, Okposo, Zub

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The Hurricanes have brought up some extra defensive depth, announcing the recall of Maxime Lajoie from AHL Chicago.  The 25-year-old has seen NHL action in three of the last four seasons, including getting into five games with Carolina in 2021-22 although the bulk of his playing time came back in 2018-19 when he played in 56 contests with Ottawa.  This year, Lajoie has played in ten games with the Wolves, picking up four assists.  Calvin de Haan was banged up in yesterday’s matchup against Edmonton and it would seem that Lajoie will be up as some insurance in case the veteran isn’t able to play in their next game on Monday.  Dylan Coghlan is also on the roster and could be inserted into the lineup if de Haan misses any time.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Last night’s contest against Boston won’t be the only one that Sabres captain Kyle Okposo misses as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News notes that the veteran is likely to miss at least a couple more games. For now, the plan is for the 34-year-old to rest for a few days and then re-evaluate him from there.  Okposo is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in his first 14 games.
  • While the Senators were hoping to have defenseman Artem Zub back by now, it appears that he’ll be out a little while longer. Speaking to TSN 1200 earlier today (audio link), head coach D.J. Smith indicated that the 27-year-old is behind schedule but that he should be able to return by the end of the upcoming week.  Zub is a pending unrestricted free agent and was averaging just shy of 22 minutes a game before sustaining an upper-body injury last month.

East Notes: Kapanen, Hathaway, Maroon, Okposo

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Kasperi Kapanen’s second stint with the Penguins has been bumpy, to put it lightly.  He impressed in 2020-21 with 30 points in 40 games and it looked like he had finally become a consistent top-six winger.  However, his per-game production slipped last year to the point where there were questions about whether or not he’d be tendered last summer by Pittsburgh.  He ultimately was, inking a two-year, $6.4MM contract but has slid down the depth chart to the point where he has recently been a healthy scratch.

Accordingly, Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now argues that the time has come for the Penguins to part ways with the 26-year-old.  Playing a limited role (or not playing at all) isn’t going to help his trade value so he suggests that waiving him is the next best course of action (assuming there isn’t a viable trade out there).  If he clears, he’d get an opportunity to play a bigger role and perhaps rediscover his scoring touch while giving Pittsburgh a bit of cap flexibility ($1.125MM of his AAV would come off).  At this point, with the alternatives being having him struggle or in the press box, it’s an option that GM Ron Hextall might be considering.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Department of Player Safety announced that they’ve fined Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway $4,054 and Lightning winger Patrick Maroon $2,703 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Those amounts, which work out to 50% of their daily pay, are the maximum permitted in the CBA.  The incident occurred during last night’s game during a review of the check to the head from Nicolas Aube-Kubel on Cal Foote; both players received a five-minute major and a ten-minute misconduct on the play.
  • Sabres winger Kyle Okposo will miss tonight’s game against Boston, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The captain is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.  While the 34-year-old only has one goal in the early going, he’s tied for third on Buffalo with eight assists through 14 games.  Jack Quinn will return to the lineup in Okposo’s place after being a healthy scratch on Thursday night.

Sabres Notes: Young Players, Okposo, Injuries

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On what is expected to be a busy Monday around the NHL with the deadline to submit rosters approaching at 5:00 pm ET today, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams met with the media this morning to discuss, primarily, his new leadership group that features the club’s 20th captain, Kyle Okposo. Adams praised Okposo’s leadership and his relationship with teammates and echoed much of the same sentiment towards alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons. The GM also lauded defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, now a full-time alternate captain, for his development not only on the ice, but as a person in the locker room and his drive to get better.

Beyond the new leadership group, Adams touched on several other news and notes, including the status of several of the team’s young players like John-Jason Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. As to Peterka and Quinn, Adams seemed to indicate that both would be on the team’s opening night roster, saying the body of work the pair had put in with the AHL’s Rochester Americans last year shows that they are “ready to take the next step.” Adams continued, referring to the team’s entire young core, including names like Peyton Krebs and Mattias Samuelsson as well, that they will ultimately need to get more and more reps in to continue to develop at this level. On Luukkonen, Adams was impressed with his offseason and training camp efforts, but appeared to confirm the expected, that the goaltender would begin the season in Rochester with veterans Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson on the NHL roster. Seeing Luukkonen spend another year in the minors may not necessarily be exciting news for Sabres fans, however giving him regular starts should make a strong contribution to his overall development.

  • Also from Adams’ availability, when discussing his new leadership group, he touched on the contractual future of captain Kyle Okposo, who is in the last year of a seven-year, $42MM deal, saying the team had yet to discuss an extension with their veteran. That news, combined with some of the objective disappointment on both sides over the life of the contract, might seem to point to a parting of ways at the end of this year, however given the fact that the team named him their captain with just one year left on his contract, with other cornerstone options available, indicates that there is a chance the winger could be back. Any extension with Okposo surely won’t match his current deal, but if he can repeat on his impressive 21 goal, 45 point 2021-22 season, he should find his way to a relatively strong payday.
  • On the injury front, goaltender Malcolm Subban, who left last night’s Rochester preseason game with an injury, could be out for some time, Adams said. The team is still awaiting a further update on Subban. Forward Riley Sheahan will begin the season on injured-reserve as well, the only player expected to be there on the opening night roster, says Adams.

Buffalo Sabres Name Kyle Okposo Captain

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The Buffalo Sabres made their 2022-23 leadership group official Sunday afternoon, naming longtime Sabres forward Kyle Okposo the 20th captain in Sabres history. Forward Zemgus Girgensons and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will serve as Buffalo’s alternate captains for the upcoming season. The team went without a captain last season after trading the injured Jack Eichel, their previous captain, instead electing to have Okposo and Girgensons serve as full-time alternates, and Dahlin an alternate at times later in the season.

Sabres’ GM Kevyn Adams, had the following to say about Okposo:

“It’s impossible to overstate what Kyle has meant to this group – he is patient, he is a lifelong learner, he is levelheaded, and most of all, he is proud to be a Buffalo Sabre. When times get difficult, Kyle knows when to speak up, and when he does, the team takes it to heart. Kyle and his family have made Buffalo their home and want to see our organization succeed, both on and off ice. I am proud that Kyle will represent our organization with class.”

After many years of on-ice struggles, the Sabres appeared to begin the turn-around last season, beginning to win consistently in the second half. The leadership group of Okposo and Girgensons provides the right influence to a predominantly young, and talented, Sabres roster. On the Sabres organization and the roster he’s about to lead, the newest Buffalo captain had this to say:

“I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m happy to be somebody that the guys in this organization and the guys that play on the team can look up to and try and continue to move this culture forward. I’m just so proud of where we’re at from a team standpoint. It’s not a guarantee that the results follow a good culture, but it’s a hell of a good start. That’s what I’m definitely most proud of over the last year.”

The captaincy comes in the final year of a seven-year deal Okposo signed during the 2016 offseason, bringing him upstate from the New York Islanders and Long Island to western New York and the Sabres. Things weren’t always as exciting and hopeful as they are now for Buffalo or Okposo. As the team struggled year after year, Okposo dealt with injuries and struggles to produce the way the Sabres, and his $6MM cap hit, had expected. Things did turn around for both in 2021-22 though, the Sabres seeming to turn things around and Okposo rebounding with a strong 21 goal, 24 assist performance over 74 games.

What the future holds for both sides is unclear, but naming Okposo captain while the team has plenty of building blocks around him would appear to show their commitment to the veteran moving forward, evidenced all the more by Adams’ words. To Okposo’s point, culture isn’t the be-all-end-all, but it’s a strong start, and considering what the franchise has been through since its last postseason berth in 2011, building a strong culture will be paramount to their future success.

Buffalo Sabres To Name Captain Prior To Regular Season

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The Buffalo Sabres haven’t officially had a captain since just prior to this season when they stripped the title from the injured Jack Eichel prior to an early-season trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. That year-long absence will come to an end soon, though, as newly-extended general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters today that the team will announce their leadership group for 2022-23, including a team captain, prior to the regular season.

As mentioned by The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski in the linked story above, veteran winger Kyle Okposo is the leading candidate for the role, supported by rumors over the offseason. Okposo had his best offensive year as a Sabre despite largely playing in a fourth-line role, cracking the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2015-16 and had 45 points, his highest total in a Sabres jersey. Forming solid chemistry with Zemgus Girgensons, also expected to be named an alternate captain as the longest-tenured Sabre, Okposo’s taken on a de facto leadership role and is becoming an integral part of the team’s voice.

While Okposo has been an alternate captain in Buffalo for the past five seasons, Alex Tuch also jumps out as an obvious candidate for the job. Acquired in the Eichel trade, the Buffalo native had 38 points in 50 games as a Sabre this past year and cemented himself as a top-six fixture.

Speaking today on the team’s leadership group, head coach Don Granato said the following:

I’ll just point out our three older, I think our three oldest guys, are Girgensons, Okposo and Craig Anderson. And they do a tremendous job. They have that presence. And they are in it, obviously, as competitors, but they really have a deep care for helping some other guys achieve more. They don’t fear that this guy might replace me. Which is very uncommon. Whether that is an unconscious thought, or a subconscious thought. Sometimes it’s hard for the older players to really, really help a guy who might replace them or take some ice time away from them. And those three guys there, they love it.

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