Our report card series continues today with the Sabres veteran forward, Kyle Okposo.
Total Season Stats: 35 GP | 2 G | 11 A | 13 PTS
Age: 33
Contract Status: Under contract through 2022-23 (UFA)
The Buffalo Sabres bottom-six continues to be anchored by the Sabres anchor of a contract.
What a way to start a report card for Kyle Okposo, right?
In a season where Okposo dealt with injuries and outright ineffectiveness, he produced the worst statistical full season output in his NHL career.
You are looking at a player who has played in 835 career games and has scored 198 goals but only managed to amass a very-underwhelming 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 35 games.
Okposo’s skating ability, or lack thereof, was on display throughout the entire season. As he has gotten older, Okposo’s game certainly has taken a step back but this season was a whole new step in the wrong direction.
Okposo’s diminished skating ability had him often struggling to keep up with the faster pace of play and younger players around him, both Buffalo’s players and opposing players.
Offensively, analytics show that the Sabres offense had a slight advantage with Okposo on the ice. Sarcasm aside, the Sabres offense posted a 0.01 expected goals for per 60 minutes when Okposo was on the ice.
Defensively, a different story was told. When Okposo was on the ice, the Sabres posted a -0.13 expected goals per 60 minutes.
As mentioned above Okposo did deal with a few injuries this season. Okposo suffered an upper-body injury in March, which was confirmed to have been related to concussion symptoms.
Okposo’s season was also ended abruptly due to injury.
On April 15 against the Washington Capitals, Okposo was a victim of friendly fire. Sabres defenseman Matt Irwin was attempting to clear the puck and Okposo took the puck directly to his face, resulting in a broken left cheekbone. Okposo’s injury required season-ending surgery.
With all that Okposo has been through in his time with the Sabres organization, it becomes difficult to be so hard on him. It remains incredibly difficult to see how Okposo fits in the organization’s future plans, despite two years remaining on his contract.
Season Grade: D
How would you grade Kyle Okposo’s season?
| A | 7 |
| B | 11 |
| C | 100 |
| D | 201 |
| F | 264 |