Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – With the NHL Trade Deadline coming up on Friday at 3 p.m. EST, Kyle Okposo knows he may have played his last game in a Sabres uniform in front of the Buffalo fans this past Sunday in a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Okposo admits emotionally, it was certainly on his mind as the final horn went.
"You never know what’s going to happen, but it definitely went through my mind," said Okposo on Tuesday after practice. "I took a little bit of extra time, and we’ll see what Friday brings."
Okposo arrived in Buffalo in 2016 and signed his free agent contract on July 1. The Sabres captain played 529 games with the New York Islanders, and has now played 514 with the Sabres.
The 35-year-old really hasn’t had to worry about the trade deadline throughout his career, and says this is new territory for him.
"It’s weird, because it’s a position I’ve never been in during my entire career," Okposo said. "But I’ve seen a lot of deadlines come and go, you see guys get moved, and you see that it’s part of the business. I’m going to go about my day and be professional. I’m not going to change who I am."
Okposo knows you can’t get ahead of yourself, especially with two more games before Friday's deadline.
"You have to do your best to try not to think about what’s coming, and you try to stay in the moment," he said. "There’s going to be friends that you spent a lot of time with that are going to be moved, and you have to just continue to go about your day and do your job."
Okposo is a class leader, as it just comes natural for him.
"I’ve never been one to have anybody worry about me. I always wanted people in the locker room to feel like I had their best interest at-hand and I had their back, and they didn’t have to worry about anything because I was going to take care of it," he said.
"I’m going to be fine and as the captain of the team. I’ve just tried to do the best that I could to make sure that everyone felt their best every single day, and I hope the guys have felt that. That’s not going to be something I’m going to stop just because of the situation that I’m in."
When the Sabres had back-to-back games at home this past weekend, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played contests against the Vegas Golden Knights and Jets. This time, both games are on the road.
After Wednesday night's matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sabres will then fly to Nashville to play the Predators on Thursday. The team will also have customs to go through.
With that in mind, you’ll likely see both two goalies for the Sabres in these two games.
"For all those reasons, yes. There’s no question," said Sabres head coach Don Granato on Tuesday. "It’s much, much different than playing back-to-back at home, so you factor all that in. It’s a much bigger challenge, and I’m more inclined to split the two."
During Tuesday’s practice, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin took a puck to the face and needed to step away from action for a bit. He had gauze in both nostrils when he came back, but continued to practice.
