Sabres captain Kyle Okposo can be out on a week-to-week foundation with a lower-body harm, the staff stated. Okposo was unexpectedly absent from staff apply on Tuesday, as relayed by The Buffalo Information’ Lance Lysowski, however it’s unclear when he sustained the harm between this morning and Sunday’s loss in opposition to the Senators.
Okposo, 35, is in his second season because the Sabres’ captain and his eighth in Buffalo since signing a seven-year, $42M contract as a free agent in the summertime of 2016. He’s not sure to that preliminary long-term deal, signing a one-year, $2.5M contract extension to stay in upstate New York for this season final Could.
It’s been one other first rate season of depth manufacturing from the Minnesotan, who missed vital chunks of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with extreme concussion signs. Whereas he had no factors in his final 4 video games earlier than the harm, he had notched eight objectives and 6 assists for 14 factors in 38 video games. That places him on the precise 0.37 points-per-game tempo he set final season with the Sabres, though it stays a step again from the 21 objectives and 45 factors he scored within the 2021-22 marketing campaign.
Okposo hasn’t been the bona fide second-line winger the Sabres thought they had been getting nearly eight years in the past, however the seventh general choose by the Islanders within the 2006 NHL Draft has grown right into a beneficial veteran presence on a staff largely dominated by younger expertise. He doesn’t log a ton of time on particular groups items, though he does nonetheless see occasional utilization on the facility play and penalty kill and averages almost 14 minutes per sport in all conditions. His 49.6% Corsi share at even energy definitely doesn’t make him a chance-suppression juggernaut, however he’s averted changing into a legal responsibility within the late phases of his profession.
It’s a troublesome harm break for a Sabres staff that’s already handled the longer-term absences of Zach Benson, Zemgus Girgensons, Jack Quinn, and Tage Thompson this yr. After an already disappointing begin to the season, the Sabres aren’t any nearer to turning issues round with a 4-5-1 document of their final ten video games. Practically midway by means of the NHL calendar, their playoff probabilities have dipped beneath ten p.c, per MoneyPuck – a troublesome spot to be in for a rebuilding staff anticipated to take steps ahead from their tenth-place end within the Jap Convention final season. Their 15-19-4 document has them 14th within the convention at current, forward of solely the Blue Jackets and Senators.
With two additional forwards already on the roster accessible to switch Okposo within the lineup (Victor Olofsson and Eric Robinson), the Sabres don’t must make a recall from AHL Rochester. In the event that they select to take action, they presently have a full 23-player roster and would want to maneuver Okposo to injured reserve to accommodate a recall. One in every of Olofsson or Robinson will seemingly slot in a fourth-line function alongside Girgensons and Peyton Krebs of their subsequent sport in opposition to the Canadiens on Thursday.
