Confirmed with Link: Sabres sign Kyle Okposo (7 years, $6M AAV)

[jBuds]

He's also durable. Doesn't miss a lot of games.

I like that he'll be tradeable back home to MIN after BUF wins a couple cups.

ehhhhhh... he has been dinged up in about half of his seasons...but yeah, he's not going to go Connolly and miss 4-6 weeks with pins and needles or 2 months with a broken heart...


Hoping people are going to accept him for what he is, and not continue to expect an elite offensive top line winger, which KO is not.

 

[ozpensfan]

This is an excellent deal. Lucic got 6, Frans Neilson got $5. Darren helm $4. Backes 5 years @ 6 per. This is the best deal by a long way. Got the younger , stronger better player.

 

[Jim Bob]

If the Sabres are going to pay $6Mx7, I'd much rather it go to Okposo than Lucic!

Hopefully this works out over the first 4 or 5 years.

 

[krt88]

HATE the term, don't mind the AAV.

Likely structured in a way so last 2 years allow for future buyout. Needs to produce.

 

[haseoke39]

The one nice thing this indicates to me is that we may have finally broken the perception barrier. Okposo took a deal perfectly in line with the other top free agents of the day. He came to Buffalo when there were probably comparable offers from other markets.

That's meaningful, and I assume the credit goes to our young core and Terry Pegula's influence on the franchise and the city. Hopefully it continues.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Love the player and the contract is better than what I was expecting so I feel a huge win today in free agency. He's better than Lucic and Eriksson and was had for the same price. That should say a lot that Buffalo isn't a place players don't want to play for anymore and we don't exactly have to massively overpay.

 

[Paxon]

This is an excellent deal. Lucic got 6, Frans Neilson got $5. Darren helm $4. Backes 5 years @ 6 per. This is the best deal by a long way. Got the younger , stronger better player.

You forgot about Ladd - 7 years, $5.5m.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

I've been an Okposo fan for a while. Always felt like he would eventually end up with us with all the chatter over the years. I think the concerns of consistency are probably valid but for the money and what he brings when he does turn it up, I like this deal a lot. The Moulson / Okposo / Tavares line was a ton of fun to watch. Not getting my hopes up too high but maybe this gives Moulson a kick next season.

 

[BloFan4Life]

Good signing. We NEED to add talent right now. We have these Eichel and Reinhart entry deals.

 

[Clock]

More palatable at 6 million instead of 7, but I'm terrified of his production dropping off. Seven years is a long time.

 

[tsujimoto74]

The one nice thing this indicates to me is that we may have finally broken the perception barrier. Okposo took a deal perfectly in line with the other top free agents of the day. He came to Buffalo when there were probably comparable offers from other markets.

That's meaningful, and I assume the credit goes to our young core and Terry Pegula's influence on the franchise and the city. Hopefully it continues.

Yeah, that's a solid point. It was only a few years ago we were allegedly offering bigger contracts than any other team and still getting spurned. Okposo at 6x7 is completely in line with the market value of the other UFA signings today.

More palatable at 6 million instead of 7, but I'm terrified of his production dropping off. Seven years is a long time.

That's where the front-loading (to the extent that's possible with this CBA) is nice. Should make him moveable to a cap floor team later if that happens.

 

[Jame]

The one nice thing this indicates to me is that we may have finally broken the perception barrier. Okposo took a deal perfectly in line with the other top free agents of the day. He came to Buffalo when there were probably comparable offers from other markets.

That's meaningful, and I assume the credit goes to our young core and Terry Pegula's influence on the franchise and the city. Hopefully it continues.

Agreed

 

[Dingo44]

Pierre LOVES this signing and what GMTM is doing.

 

[vcv]

More palatable at 6 million instead of 7, but I'm terrified of his production dropping off. Seven years is a long time.

I was in the same boat as you, but repeat after me: Front-loaded, signing bonuses, small market teams needing help to reach salary floor with high AAV but low real dollars.

 

[jBuds]

Yeah, that's a solid point. It was only a few years ago we were allegedly offering bigger contracts than any other team and still getting spurned. Okposo at 6x7 is completely in line with the market value of the other UFA signings today.

Absolutely... it's bigger, conceptually, than what he will bring in terms of quantifiable or measurables.


I like that we got a guy atop the heap, and didn't have to blow everybody else out of the water $$-wise in order to do so.

 

[billsandsabres]

which of the sabres centers would okposo pair with best?

 

[Chainshot]

The one nice thing this indicates to me is that we may have finally broken the perception barrier. Okposo took a deal perfectly in line with the other top free agents of the day. He came to Buffalo when there were probably comparable offers from other markets.

That's meaningful, and I assume the credit goes to our young core and Terry Pegula's influence on the franchise and the city. Hopefully it continues.

There is also the possibility of Moulson's influence as he and Okposo are close (godfather to kid thing). Moulson... all about the intangibles.

 

[vcv]

which of the sabres centers would okposo pair with best?

He played with Nielsen so you would think ROR. But he also has played with JT, so Eichel may work too.

 

[dotcommunism]

Pierre LOVES this signing and what GMTM is doing.

Well then I hate it, now.

 

[jBuds]

which of the sabres centers would okposo pair with best?

Depends on who the other wingers are, IMO...ROR can play with anybody, so I think we'll see it change often.

 

[Clock]

I was in the same boat as you, but repeat after me: Front-loaded, signing bonuses, small market teams needing help to reach salary floor with high AAV but low real dollars.

Yup, great points. The league has certainly demonstrated that no contract is untouchable, anyhow.

 

[1972]

It's not like we are signing a third liner and asking him to play in the top 6.

 

[sabrebuild]

There should be some crow in here for posters who predicted huge aav for okposo.

 

[Paxon]

which of the sabres centers would okposo pair with best?

I pencil him in with ROR simply because I want to continue seeing what Reinhart and Eichel can do together. I expect he will move between the two a lot. Playing with ROR allows him to have the puck more, so it probably works well.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

Lucic on TSN said he went to Edmonton for one reason - McDavid. And I'm sure for Okposo it was Eichel. Stud young 1C's are the hottest coeds on campus.

Regier took a bullet for the fans, had Tim Murray come in here when we still had the old core, his first NHL GM job, he couldn't/wouldn't be able to say to the owner 'my plan is to tear this team apart and be horrendously bad for a few years, accumulate draft picks, draft at the top of the draft'