Okposo: 'Unfinished business,' family support inspired decision to return

Kyle Okposo spent the immediate weeks following the Sabres' season mulling his future in conversations with his wife, Danielle, and others in his inner circle.

It quickly became evident that Okposo would continue playing, a decision that was vindicated after he received the phone call making his one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Sabres official. The first person he told was his son, Odin, who was brushing his teeth before bed.

"His reaction was worth it," Okposo said Thursday morning. "Sometimes I forget how much it means to them, especially my older two kids."

The meaning to his family was a major influence on Okposo's decision to return at age 35. His belief in the Sabres' direction was another.

The Sabres, with the youngest roster in the NHL, jumped from 75 points in 2021-22 to 91 this past season, their highest mark in Okposo's seven-year tenure with the organization. They finished one point shy of the Florida Panthers, who advanced to the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday.

Florida's run had Okposo think back to his introductory press conference seven years ago, when he spoke about the potential of winning a Stanley Cup in Buffalo.

"There is definitely some unfinished business, for sure," Okposo said. "I've been through a lot here. … I just think we're scratching the surface. I think that it's pretty evident by what's happened in the playoffs this year that we're not very far from reaching the top of the mountain.

"It's something that I had set out to do when I had my introductory press conference, and I did not know how much work was gonna have to go into it. But I think that we're extremely close."

Okposo has been one of the main catalysts of the Sabres' growth. He was unanimously recognized as their leader in the dressing room in 2021-22, a title that was made official when he was awarded the captaincy last October. He set out to cultivate the open, communicative culture in the locker room that players have credited with translating onto the ice.

Okposo is the team's unofficial spokesperson, be it through Video: KYLE OKPOSO or his addresses to the media. He has embedded himself as a member of the community.

Casey Mittelstadt refers to Okposo as the team's "rock." Dylan Cozens has described him as "the life of the Sabres."

"Knowing that I can have an impact on people's lives in a positive way -- forget hockey, forget hockey for a second -- just the fact that you have a role to be a leader, to be a role model, and to be with these people every day," Okposo said. "And they're all such good people. I think that if you can have that impact on somebody's life that is so rewarding for me as a person.

"Like, I love teaching. I love coaching -- for lack of a better term -- these people to be the best people that they can be and that's what I try and do every day. I just try and set as good an example as I can. And so, it's definitely rewarding to see the progress that we've made as people and as hockey players as well. I think our team, it shows in the way that we play on the ice."

The next step, Okposo said, will be leading the Sabres amid the increased expectations that accompany their status as a team on the rise.

"We can't be scared about the expectations," he said. "There's going to be expectations next year. You guys know it. Last year, there was no expectations. And everybody's writing rosy articles and this group is a good team, it's becoming a good team. And that's great, but how do you do that with expectations?

"There's guys that are starting to get bigger contracts, there's guys that are starting to get noticed nationally. There's going to be lofty expectations next year, and I think that we can't run from that. You have to set your goal. And should our goal be to make the playoffs? And should our goal be to be two points better than we were this year? No. Let's accept it, let's accept it now."

The answer? Set the bar high and focus on daily improvement, he said.

"You set the goal of winning a Stanley Cup, and then you don't touch that, and you don't let that weigh you down at all from the day to day of the season. You set that goal and you know that it's there and then you take it a day at a time, and you get better, like Kevyn (Adams) has always said and like Donny (Granato) says, you want to get better every day. But we cannot run from those expectations anymore.

"The time is now. … Our window, I think it's opening and we have to be prepared for that. And everybody's got to come better, starting with me. And I think that that's the expectation we have to set."