Sabres sign RW Kyle Okposo for 7 years, $42 mill

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That Aud Smell, on 01 Jul 2016 - 2:07 PM, said:

^

 

Do I correctly recall Okposo suffering an awful broken leg as a young player in the league?

 

(Edit: Not to suggest damaged goods. I just seem to remember that.)

 

Pssh.  Careful, despite your caveat, you are being seemingly irrational probing into the details.  You might be labeled as a hater if you continue this thought.

[Jsixspd]

All right, nay sayers.  Where are you?  Buffalo just signed the top free agent of the year and did it at a reasonable AAV,

Great deal. The rebuild just took a big step forward.  Sabres' biggest issue has been the lack of fire power - this really helps address it.  

[GoPre]

Pssh.  Careful, despite your caveat, you are being seemingly irrational probing into the details.  You might be labeled as a hater if you continue this thought.

 

Wait, he's a hater?  :devil: That son of a.... Grab the pitchforks!!!

[LGR4GM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9_zKm2Ewaw

[Kristian]

Great deal. The rebuild just took a big step forward.  Sabres' biggest issue has been the lack of fire power - this really helps address it.  

I'd like to see them bolster the blueline a little, though.

[Winston]

At $6M AAV, I'm pumped to be adding Okposo. I was very leery of the "Buffalo all in" rumors, thinking we might overpay in the $7-8M range.

 

At the end of the day, KO was the biggest fish on the open market once Stamkos re-signed. To add a top line RW without losing any assets is huge.

 

If the deal is front loaded to coincide with the ELCs/future pay raises of our young core, that's just icing on the cake.

[bob_sauve28]

How much of an upgrade is he over Jamie McGinn?

[That Aud Smell]

$25M being paid in bonuses.

 

I love how every CBA has its loopholes.

[Randall Flagg]

How much of an upgrade is he over Jamie McGinn?

Better possession player, better defense, and doesn't pick up garbage only; he can create and make plays too. Better passer. Nice shot. Probably prone to more ups-and-downs, McGinn seemed incredibly consistent.

[Eleven]

How much of an upgrade is he over Jamie McGinn?

 

How much of an upgrade was Thurman over Ronnie Harmon?

[Hoss]

https://sabresdigitalpressbox.com/2016/07/01/okposo-signs-7-year-deal-with-sabres/

 

Sabres make it officially official.

 

OKPOSO SIGNS 7-YEAR DEAL WITH SABRES

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Ian Ott | Leave a comment

BUFFALO, N.Y. (July 1, 2016) — The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team has signed forward Kyle Okposo to a seven-year contract.

In his eighth full NHL season with the New York Islanders in 2015-16, Okposo (6’0”, 217 lbs., 4/16/1988) recorded 64 points (22+42) and 51 penalty minutes. His career-high totals in assists (42) and power play points (23) each led all Islanders players in 2015-16.

Okposo has topped the 50-point mark in each of the last three seasons, including a career-best 69 points (27+42) in 2013-14. He has been among the league’s most productive players during that stretch, ranking 25th among all NHL skaters in assists (117) and points (184), and 18th in points per game (.88) since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

In 529 total NHL games, Okposo has recorded 369 points (139+230) and 310 penalty minutes, adding 15 points (7+8) and 11 penalty minutes in 24 playoff games. The St. Paul, Minnesota native has also represented the United States at several international tournaments, including the IIHF World Championship (2009, 2010, 2012) and the IIHF World Junior Championship (2007, 2008).

[Stoner]

What message board did you think you were on?

The one with hysterical exaggerators who create strawmen and resort to troll-calling?

I am being told by an Isles fan friend that Okposo is not all about Tavares, he played more with Nielsen last season, he's a great player and we will hate him for his ill-fated toe drags at the blue line.

He's also intense and has a great one-time from his knees.

[Hoss]

Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger

No move in first 2 yrs and limited no trade for rest of deal where Okposo declares 15 teams annually he won't go to.

[TrueBlueGED]

 

Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger

 

No move in first 2 yrs and limited no trade for rest of deal where Okposo declares 15 teams annually he won't go to.

Sadness.

[Stoner]

The issue of Okposo's retinal detachment is pretty interesting. He's very nearsighted and that increases the risk of a retinal detachment because a nearsighted eye is bigger (longer maybe) than normal and thus the retina is thinner than normal. Detachments of the vitreous gel inside the eye are very common as anyone gets older, and commonly happen in younger people who are very nearsighted. (The vitreous is attached to the retina and when it detaches it can tear the retina.)

 

This would suggest it would have happened to accountant Kyle Okposo or construction worker Okposo. He can't tie the symptoms that led him to emergency surgery to any hit or incident on the ice. His eye apparently wasn't hit by a stick, puck or elbow. (But in the NY Post article linked below he does say it "probably was a hit.")

 

 

“There is always a risk that it can happen again,” he said, “just with my eyes being the way they are. Being very, very nearsighted, there is always a risk.”

 

http://nypost.com/2015/03/10/kyle-okposo-returns-to-islanders-just-in-time-for-rangers-duel/

 

How to quantify the risk?

 

 

Dr. Kaiser: The natural success rate of a retinal detachment surgery the first go-around is usually around 90 percent. But that still means that one out of ten retinas will peel down again. Think of the retina as being about the size of a postage stamp but much, much thinner. And so you have this very friable thin tissue that once it’s already peeled down, there’s a tendency for it to re-detach in the short term. But if you get a patient through the first six to eight weeks after the initial surgery and they are successfully reattached, the rate of re-detachment actually goes way down, to probably around the three to four percent range.

http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/04/23/new-york-islanders-kyle-okposo-recovering-his-game-after-scary-eye-injury-detached-retina

 

It's very safe to say the Sabres did their due dligence (hopefully better than I just did) and are satisfied he is at low risk of another career-threatening retinal detachment.

[Brawndo]

He had preventive surgery done on his opposite eye to prevent it from occurring in that eye.

[Robviously]

Sadness.

Not really.  If we're trying to move him at some point, I assume it's because he's either over the hill or we just need to free up money.  And in either scenario, we wouldn't be too concerned with the return.  And if we're not concerned with the return, we should be able to find 1 team out of 15 (possibly more if there's another expansion) willing to take him on.

BTW, Okposo's Twitter bio is great:

 

I try and put a little black piece of rubber into a cage while other people try to stop me.

 

 

https://twitter.com/bookerT2116

[Drunkard]

Not really. If we're trying to move him at some point, I assume it's because he's either over the hill or we just need to free up money. And in either scenario, we wouldn't be too concerned with the return. And if we're not concerned with the return, we should be able to find 1 team out of 15 (possibly more if there's another expansion) willing to take him on.

 

BTW, Okposo's Twitter bio is great:

 

 

https://twitter.com/bookerT2116

Sounds like he neglects his defensive duties. Bad signing.

 

/sarcasm

[hockeyhound]

There is no beating HOSS when he's on his game, fastest keyboard in the NE. 

Okposo is going to be a very good pickup, he's going to surprise a bunch of the naysayers on this board.

Kane-ROR-Okposo line is going to be a major chore to play against. 

Vesey-Eichel-Reinhart

That my friends is an big time top 6

 

 

 

I certainly would like to see Kane - ROR - Okposo together, and yes that would be a tough line to play against.

 

However....

 

Do you think Kane will still be a Sabre when all is said and done? :w00t:  

Edited July 2, 2016 by hockeyhound

[Eleven]

6:01 everyone.  6:01.  If you drank your punch before then, you were safe.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Eleven

[North Buffalo]

How much of an upgrade is he over Jamie McGinn?

Got to see Okposo a lot on TV market in NY metro area. He is always a threat to score. Hustles all the time, goes into corners well and tough but not a big hitter. Able to withstand hits well and seems to always be involved in scoring plays.

[Trettioåtta]

Big fan of this. Over the last 3 years he is the 5th best winger in ppg. Boom

[Eleven]

Big fan of this. Over the last 3 years he is the 5th best winger in ppg. Boom

 

Welcome back 38!  

[Trettioåtta]

Welcome back 38!  

 

:thumbsup:

[LastPommerFan]

Cool signing. It actually looks like Samson might be our second longest serving top six forward next year. We've gone from nothing to something very good in 18 months. Well done GMTM.