Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres have traded their captain to the Florida Panthers.
Kyle Okposo is heading to South Florida on Friday in a trade that will see the Sabres receive a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which could be a fifth-round pick if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup, and defenseman Calle Själin.
The 35-year-old is now set to reunite with good friend Sam Reinhart with the Panthers, along with some other familiar faces in Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Montour and Dmitry Kulikov.
Okposo was, the No. 1 free agent of the 2016 class, and the Sabres inked him to a seven-year deal on July 1.
Before coming to Buffalo, the New York Islanders drafted Okposo seventh overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. He played 529 games in New York, picking up 368 points.
Okposo leaves Buffalo after 516 games, where he scored 102 goals and 141 assists for 243 points.
This season with the Sabres, Okposo played 61 games, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points.
Själin was a fifth-round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2017 NHL Draft.
The 24-year-old left-shot defenseman didn’t come to play in North America until the 2022-23 season, and was in the middle of his second season with the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League.
It sounds like Själin is a guy that will give the Rochester Americans some depth on the blue line as they try to make the Calder Cup Playoffs.
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