Okposo announced his retirement from hockey Thursday, according to his agent at CAA Hockey.
Okposo went out on top as he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Panthers last season. The 36-year-old had two assists in 10 playoff games while managing 12 goals and 22 points in 67 regular-season contests between Buffalo and Florida. Okposo ends his NHL career with 242 goals and 372 assists in 1,051 appearances of regular-season action.
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Panthers' Kyle Okposo: Making debut Tuesday
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Okposo will make his Panthers debut Tuesday on the road against Dallas, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site.
Okposo played 61 games with Buffalo this season, recording 12 goals and 10 assists. The 35-year-old will be on the third line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. The veteran Okposo should also see minutes with the man advantage after averaging 1:17 of power-play ice time with the Sabres.
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Panthers' Kyle Okposo: Joins team for practice
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Okposo (not injury related) participated in Monday's practice, according to Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site.
Okposo appears to be ready to make his Florida debut Tuesday against Dallas after being acquired from Buffalo on Friday. He skated on the third line during Monday's session and could see some power-play action in Tuesday's contest. Okposo has 12 goals and 22 points in 61 games this season.
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Panthers' Kyle Okposo: Not playing Saturday
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Okposo (not injury related) won't play Saturday versus Calgary, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.
Okposo hasn't joined the team yet after being acquired from Buffalo ahead of Friday's deadline. He has 12 goals, 22 points, 106 shots on net and 61 hits in 61 games this season. When he is available to make his Florida debut, Okposo should occupy a bottom-six spot in the lineup.
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Panthers' Kyle Okposo: Traded to Cats
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Okposo was traded to Florida by the Sabres on Friday in exchange for Calle Sjalin and a conditional seventh-round pick.
Okposo could be in danger of missing the 30-point threshold for the second straight season after having registered just 22 points through 61 games with Buffalo this year. With the Panthers, the veteran winger figures to continue filling a bottom-six role at even strength, but he could see some opportunities with the No. 2 power-play unit.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Adds goal in rout
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Okposo lit the lamp in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Golden Knights.
Okposo inflicted damage against the Golden Knights in the third period, when the Sabres captain cleaned up a rebound originating from a Jeff Skinner shot. Buffalo has won seven of its last 10 games, but aside from the occasional goal or assist, Okposo isn't doing that much to stand out from the pack. The 35-year-old veteran is averaging a mere 13:33 of ice time with 12 goals, nine assists, a plus-3 rating and three power-play points through 58 games.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Tallies in Tuesday's loss
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Okposo scored a goal on two shots and added 10 PIM in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Ducks.
Okposo cut the Sabres' deficit to 3-2 with 2:56 left in the third period, but they couldn't tie the game. The 35-year-old winger has two points over six contests since he returned from a lower-body injury that cost him three games. While he's a solid bottom-six forward and leader, Okposo has a modest 16 points with 69 shots on net, 34 hits, 30 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating through 44 appearances, production too low to be helpful in most fantasy formats.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Will play Thursday
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Okposo (lower body) will be in the lineup against the Senators on Thursday, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.
Okposo will be back on the ice after a three-game absence due to his lower-body problem. Through 38 games this season, the veteran winger has already scored eight goals and needs just three more to match his season total from 2022-23. In fact, the St. Paul native has managed 14 points this year despite just one of those coming with the man advantage.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Nearing return to action
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Okposo (lower body) won't play against Seattle on Tuesday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports, but is hopeful to play against Ottawa or Vancouver on Thursday or Saturday, per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.
Okposo appears to have progressed into day-to-day status but won't be ready until Thursday at the earliest. On the year, the veteran winger has generated 14 points in 38 games and could push for the 30-point threshold if he returns to the lineup soon.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Deemed week-to-week
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Okposo is considered week-to-week due to a lower-body injury.
Okposo didn't take part in Tuesday's practice after logging 10:56 of ice time in Sunday's 5-1 loss to Ottawa. He will be replaced in the lineup by Victor Olofsson or Eric Robinson. Okposo has eight goals, 14 points, 61 shots on net, 27 blocked shots and 29 hits over 38 games this season.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Lights lamp twice in rout
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Okposo scored two goals, one shorthanded, in Thursday's 9-3 win over the Maple Leafs.
His shortie midway through the second period on a breakaway from Buffalo's blue line gave the Sabres a 6-3 lead and seemed to break Toronto's spirit. Okposo then snapped home another goal in the third for the final tally of the night. The veteran winger began the season with a 19-game goal drought but has come to life since then, racking up eight goals and 11 points in the last 15 contests while seeing time on both the penalty kill and the second power-play unit.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Totals three points in home win
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Okposo contributed a goal and two assists in Monday's 5-2 home win against the Coyotes.
Okposo was good for a plus-3 rating, two shots on goal, a blocked shot and three hits with four faceoff wins in six attempts across 13:20 of ice time. He entered play with three goals and just eight points across the first 27 games of the season, but he has two goals and four points over his previous two outings. This was his first three-point game since netting a hat trick against the Red Wings on Dec. 29, 2022.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Gets 600th NHL point
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Okposo scored a goal Saturday in a 3-2 shootout loss to Montreal.
He drove the net and pounded in a rebound at 6:36 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2. It was his first goal in six games and a milestone point -- Okposo now has 600 career points (234 goals, 366 assists; 1,012 games). At this point in his career, he is a bit player on a lower line. Okposo only has four goals and four assists in 28 contests during the 2023-24 campaign, but milestones like this are always worth celebrating.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Nets goal for third straight game
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Okposo provided a goal in a 5-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday.
Okposo had no goals and three assists over his first 19 contests this season, but he's found his scoring touch recently, supplying a tally in each of his last three contests. His latest marker came in the dying seconds of Monday's game to punctuate Buffalo's 5-1 win. Although Okposo's hot right now, not a lot is expected of him offensively at the age of 35. He had just 28 points in 75 appearances last year.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Scores first goal of season
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Okposo scored his first goal of the season in Friday's 3-2 win against the Penguins.
Okposo lit the lamp at 10:52 of the third period to level the score at 2-2, with helpers to Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson. Okposo ended up with a plus-1 rating and five shots on goal while winning three of his five faceoff attempts in 14:28 of ice time. He has chipped in four points in 20 contests this campaign, which doesn't give him much fantasy appeal at this time. Friday's point was his first since Oct. 27.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Manages helper in loss
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Okposo recorded an assist, two blocked shots and two PIM in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Devils.
Okposo has three helpers over his last five games, which is all of his offense this season. He set up a Dylan Cozens tally in the third period Friday. Okposo is seeing fourth-line usage again this season, and he's racked up six hits, six blocked shots, six shots on net, eight PIM and a plus-1 rating through eight appearances.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Agrees to one-year contract
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Okposo signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with Buffalo on Wednesday.
Okposo had the option to test the open market this summer as an unrestricted free agent after completing his seven-year, $42 million deal, but he decided to sign an extension with the Sabres instead. The 35-year-old scored 11 goals and 28 points in 75 contests in 2022-23. He'll likely serve primarily in a bottom-six role next season.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: First goal in eight games
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Okposo scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 victory over the Islanders on Saturday.
Okposo was in the left circle near the slot when Ilya Lyubushkin's shot from the right point hit the Isles' Anders Lee and deflected onto his stick. He made no mistake, ringing it off the near post and in past Semyon Varlamov. It was Okposo's first goal in eight games and just his third in 31 games. Yep -- the decline is real. He has 10 goals and 25 points in 65 games in the last year of his current contract. The 34-year-old winger and team captain will looking to continue to prove his leadership is worth a new deal in Buffalo, albeit at much less his current $6 million cap hit.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Ends four-game point drought
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Okposo netted a goal in Buffalo's 3-2 loss to the Islanders on Tuesday.
Okposo scored early in the third period to tie the contest at 2-2, but the Islanders were able to regain the lead. He has eight goals and 23 points in 56 outings this season. Okposo snapped a four-game scoring drought.
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Sabres' Kyle Okposo: Nets shorthanded game-winner
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Okposo scored a shorthanded goal in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Predators.
Okposo picked a fine time to end a seven-game point drought, scoring at 6:43 of the third period while killing a penalty. That goal held up as the game-winner, his second such tally this season. All four of Okposo's shorthanded goals in his career have come in the last three seasons -- this was his first shorty of 2022-23. He's up to seven goals, 17 points, 65 shots on net, 36 hits and a plus-3 rating through 34 appearances while mainly playing on the fourth line.
