the problem of being..........Kyle Okposo

[LTS]

On 4/14/2023 at 10:03 PM, Misanthrope said:

Kyle has been a good soldier, a hard worker, the captain, occasional game-changer, and a major contributor to the vibes.  At this point, however, on ice, he's standing in the way of players with greater future potential, and seems to be slowing down/has lost a step. 

If he wants to play another year, what would you do if you were Kevin Adams?

Which players is he standing in the way of?  He's a 4th liner who can fill in spots up the lineup.  But a 4th liner.  And the 4th line is not where you want your young offensive minded prospects. 

On 4/15/2023 at 6:03 AM, triumph_communes said:

They in the way of Kulich

Such as this one.. 19 year old Kulich will be just fine on the I-90 thruway squad next year. I think people have become accustomed to Buffalo needing to bring up every player with talent in the hopes that they'll help the team win more.  I think it's time people get used to the fact that there's lots of talent already on the roster and more talent that won't make the transition as quickly because of it.  This is what good drafting does for an organization.

23 hours ago, sweetlou said:

This is my thought process as well.  Bring him back to be the vet presence for one more year on a $2 million dollar contract.  Let him play about 30-45 games barring injuries to other forwards, and let him get his 1,000 NHL game.

This is exactly what I think happens unless Okposo wants to go somewhere else to play.  The organization does right by the player both rewarding the time spent in futility as well as getting him to 1,000 games.  They can do so without impeding the progress of the franchise next year.

17 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

You can only bring KO back if you move Olofsson at this point. No room on the wings otherwise impo.

And Olofsson will be gone.  I have no doubt about that.  I am convinced that Olofsson and UPL are packaged into a trade.

[Brawndo]

 

[Buffalonill]

12 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

I'm very confused how jack eichel was ever named captain now.

[LTS]

1 minute ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm very confused how jack eichel was ever named captain now.

Why?  The franchise had to play to his ego.  Kyle Okposo doesn't seem to need that same treatment.

It's not like they put a C on Okposo and he became a different person and a better leader.

[French Collection]

12 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm very confused how jack eichel was ever named captain now.

Because McDavid got the $$ and the C, the Sabres followed suit.

[dudacek]

9 hours ago, ... said:

Just a gut feeling: I think KO has had enough of being an NHL player and would prefer to be a dad for a while. I think if they were to have made the playoffs this year, then KO would have retired afterward. So, my guess is that he's weighing another season with a good possibility of going to the playoffs on a team he "invested so much into" versus finally getting off the merry-go-round and being a family guy. Assuming my guesses are correct, it presents an understandably very difficult dilemma and that I think he's earnest when he says he wants to take time and talk to his family about it.

Additionally, I would suspect that KA has likely told him to take his time and that he has a spot here if he wants it - for ~ $2m/1yr. VO will be gone and I bet they cut ties with Z.  That leaves an open slot to fill with a player upgrade and slot for either KO or one of the upcoming guys.

This.

I’d go as far as to say that the family’s plan 7 years ago was to play out the contract and retire back home to Minnesota.

Now that the time has arrived, the family has to decide if they want to stick with the plan.

I hope he comes back. I’ll be very curious who they target his important skill set if he doesn’t. It won’t be Jiri Kulich.

[Believer]

28 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Can’t buy respect like this… Hope Okposo will be part of the Buffalo Sabre organization in some capacity as long as he wants. 

[Zamboni]

I really like KO. A lot!

But I would prefer moving on from him as far as playing. If he wants to retire and stay with the Sabres in some capacity … cool.