Fort Lauderdale, Florida Kyle Okposo knows everything in Buffalo. Okposo set the tone for the Sabres over nearly eight seasons. He was a guy who knew the answers.
On March 8, Okposo was sold to Florida in exchange for defenseman Calle Sjalin and a conditional 2024 seventh-round draft pick.
He suddenly had nothing but questions.
“It’s just so many little things,” Okposo told ESPN. “So, what do you wear on the plane here? Do you wear a tie? Where are you sitting on the bus? All of those details you don’t have to consider when you’re staying somewhere for an extended period of time. You feel like a young man again now.
That’s OK; it’s good. But it is a whirlwind. I stayed in one place for years. I have never made an in-season transaction like this before. You’re attempting to find a rhythm. It’s new. And it’s difficult.”
This is the chaotic aftermath of the trading deadline. Human side.
When the months, weeks, and days of frenzied criticism and speculation about who’s going where come to an end, the players who were switched by their teams have only just begun to adjust to their new normal.
In Okposo’s instance, it started with phone calls. There are several of them
“Everything just starts blowing up,” he said. “There’s text messages [first] and then you start to get calls from the people in the organization here in Florida. You’re answering Florida numbers, but you don’t really know who they are. You’re just talking to different people, having little conversations to get to further conversations about logistics, and then once the logistical things are handled, then you get to take a moment. And I went to talk to my kids. But your phone never stops ringing throughout the whole day.”
It was less than 18 hours later that Okposo said goodbye to his wife and four (still bemused) children in Buffalo to catch a ride to Florida. The Panthers were hosting the Calgary Flames, and Okposo wanted to be in the building.
“I had a flight at 6 a.m. [on March 9], landed at 1:30 p.m. after I was delayed in Atlanta,” he said. “Then I drop my stuff off [at the hotel], go straight to the rink, work out, meet the guys, and then go have a glass of wine after the game, and you’re in bed about 1 a.m. So it was simply a long day, a long process. And I don’t feel like I’ve caught my breath yet.”
OKPOSO is ecstatic to be a Florida Panther. The veteran had no trade protection in his one-year, $2.5 million contract, but Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams was aware of Okposo’s preferred destination if a move were to occur, and Florida was it.
Adams made the deal happen. Adams’ tearful post-deadline press conference indicated how difficult it was for him to see Okposo leave the Sabres after nearly a decade of service.
“Kyle Okposo, he’s just an unbelievable person,” he remarked. “I have a lot of respect for those who are selfless in this game, and he has given this organization his heart and soul. When I consider some of the difficulties we’ve faced together, as well as the care he provided, I realize we have a one-of-a-kind bond. I’d like to thank him.
Okposo saw Adams’ comments and admitted it was “hard” bowing out in Buffalo. The Sabres simply couldn’t gain any momentum this season as they tried to turn a corner and end their 12-year playoff drought. Okposo wanted to be part of the solution. But he left with head held high.
“I put absolutely everything that I had into Buffalo and into the city, the team, the organization,” he said. “I gave everything I had and I hope that the guys there can take some things that I hopefully taught them and apply it to the future. But one thing that I am not naive to is that there is not one person in the history of professional sports that has outlasted an organization. Organizations will always move on, they will move forward. That’s just how it goes. Somebody told me that really early in my career and I’ve never forgot that.”
The Panthers now have Okposo’s complete attention. Prior to the deal, Florida was open with Okposo about what to expect and how he would fill a role. They are, after all, the greatest club in the league, and they have a solid bottom-six forward rotation that includes Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg, Eetu Luostarinen, and Evan Rodrigues. Okposo, who has 242 goals and 614 points in 1,047 games, would get his chance, and with a playoff contender no less.
He’s prepared to take everything in.
“My No. 1 goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” Okposo stated. “You know, early in my work, early in my life, I was looking for validation from outside sources, and I don’t really need it anymore, to be honest with you. I am who I am. I know the type of person I am. And on the ice, I know the type of player I am. I realize I’m not 25, but I can still play. I can still do some things exceptionally well, and I believe I can help the group. The organization has really high standards, and there is no doubt about what the expectations are in this room for the organization. And that is exciting.”
There has been discussion on the other side about how he’ll contribute, as well.
“He’s a veteran guy that wants to fit in and understands the team dynamic,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We wanted to get him in some games, get him a little bit comfortable. I think we practice a little differently here. There’s just a lot of new for him here. So [we’ve been] discussing some of the new, some quickness that can come back into his game, some physicality that could come back into his game.”
Okposo is willing to make adjustments there, too; he can add it to the list. Fortunately there was a built-in support system waiting for him down south. Sam Reinhart was a long-time teammate of Okposo’s in Buffalo turned best friend. And Okposo’s played with a handful of other guys in the room as well. That familiarity makes a transition less jarring. Because in other respects, Okposo is still flying blind.
“I’m trying to figure out a place to live right now,” he said. “When you land at the airport when you come home [from a road game], you want to go home; you don’t want to go to another hotel. Especially for me, I’m 35 years old; I’ll be 36 here soon. I’m used to going back to see my family. So that part has been difficult, but it’s part of it. I’m just digging in. I know why I’m doing this and my family knows why I’m doing it. I think my new teammates know why I’m doing this. I’m doing it for no other reason than to be successful on the ice and to be a good guy in the locker room. So through all of that logistical stuff, I have a further goal in mind.”
That’s the message Okposo sends back to his kids. It was a heart-wrenching choice to leave them and wife Danielle up in Buffalo; there’s palpable ache in his voice just discussing it.
“They’re okay. They know that I’m going to be gone for a while,” he said. “And they’re going to come down [to visit]. But it’s hard. I try to talk to them as much as I can, I FaceTime them. But it’s hard not being there for the experiences every day. My oldest is 10, and there’s different things that are happening at school with friends, with her dance and just little things that you miss as a dad. But they’re doing okay. They know it’s temporary and you know, they don’t quite understand the full picture, but I will be back to them soon.”
Not too soon, however. Florida appears to be on track for a long spring that could lead to a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final. A year ago, the Panthers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights as huge underdogs. If the Panthers return, they will do so with a bullseye on their back.
Okposo is prepared for the ride. He hasn’t played in a postseason game since 2016, when the New York Islanders defeated Florida in the first round before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second.
It’s been eight long years since Okposo felt the emotional weight of a playoff game. He shouldn’t need to wait much longer.
And then he’ll have one more answer: it was worthwhile, right? All those long days and difficult decisions it required to pursue the dream?
“I still remember the butterflies that you get night before the playoffs,” he went on to say. “If you start on the second night, you can see how hard they work the first night. And the first round is simply murder to get out of. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s all consuming. Nothing else matters except hockey. And that is a wonderful thing to be a part of. I can’t wait to experience that feeling again.”
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