1,582 words about Sabres and their need for a high profile RW. Kyle Okposo? http://t.co/rksE8kgQ0H pic.twitter.com/Nd0QmRtvSD
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) September 5, 2015
Tim Murray has done an exceptional job of recreating the Buffalo Sabres roster. Murray’s squad is now big, strong, fast, and very young. Hell, new goalie Robin Lehner is 6’5… and 230 lbs. of nastiness and skill.
Murray is still looking to add a left-shot D. He is also trying to procure a big, strong, fast, smart, scoring power right winger to his top six group.
The Sabres enter training camp very thin at right wing.
Dan Bylsma will have to re-purpose a couple of natural born centers in order to bolster his right wings and balance out his lines. Tyler Ennis will be moved from his pivot position to ride the right wall for Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane. The challenge for Bylsma is on his second line right wing slot. Matt Moulson and super rookie Jack Eichel are likely the LW-C combo. Who will Bylsma play on the L2 RW? Brian Gionta? Center Zemgus Girgensons? Rookie center Samson Reinhart?
Bylsma has a coach’s dream of having too many center man on his roster with O’Reilly, Ennis, Girgensons, Eichel, Reinhart, Legwand, and Cody McCormick. Johann Larsson is a center as well and will be challenging for a role on the revamped Sabres. Tim Murray is over loaded left wingers with Evander Kane, Matt Moulson, Marcus Foligno, Nic Deslauriers and newcomer Jamie McGinn. You can add Johann Larsson to the lefty group as well.
In the next couple of years, young guns Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste will be regular right wingers in Buffalo. They will add immediate value to the Sabres lineup. For now, they need to get a taste of their first season in pro hockey in AHL Rochester after finishing their exceptional careers in the Ontario Hockey League.
Murray and Bylsma are in deficit mode frr the time being at right wing where their roster is thin. Gionta is their only true RW. Veteran Pat Kaleta continues to skate in shinny games, with his NHLPA sweater on as he waits patiently for his phone to ring. Kaleta, 29, is UFA and the Sabres haven't offered him a new contract nor a training camp invitation. Yesterday, PK36 skated with a Sabres sweater on, however, it was turned inside out to reflect his free agent status. The Sabres may offer him a two way deal so that he can play in nearby Rochester. Or, he is free to sign elsewhere. I have been told that there are a few teams who want to offer Kaleta a PTO.
Personally speaking, I have a concern with the 36 year old Gionta playing a L2 RW. Eichel can fly and will need fast wingers to support him on the rush. Moulson isn’t the fleetest of foot, however, he gets to where he needs to be in a hurry. Moulson would rather forget the 2014-15 season from hell because he was less than his best statistically speaking. That will change this season when he and Eichel hit the ice flying together on September 18. I’d rather see captain Gionta play L3 at reduced minutes.
I’m a big fan of Girgensons playing with Moulson and Eichel because he adds physical protection to the trio as well as a high level of skill, to say nothing of serious grindage. Having said that, I can also see Girgensons challenging for a center position either on L2 or L3. I don’t expect Girgensons to automatically defer to Eichel as L2 center. There is going to be a fight for that hallowed pivot position. Girgensons will enter this training camp with a ton of poise and confidence and he will demand more from himself than ever before. In the end, I see Girgensons moving between the second and third lines as situations in games dictate. Playing the RW for Eichel and Moulson certainly won’t hurt his offensive production in this his contract year when his entry level deal will expire next July. With a 50-60 point season in 2015-16, Girgensons can make a strong case for why he deserves more than a modest 2-year bridge deal. Lots of points and chances will position Zemgus nicely for a $3.5 to $4 million AAV over five seasons.
As for Samson Reinhart, a center since birth, I can’t see him beating out the bigger, stronger Eichel for second line center. Reinhart shoots right and may be able to slide into the second line RW slot, however, I’m not sure Bylsma would want to experiment with two youngsters and one veteran on a trio. Perhaps later in the season when both Eichel and Reinhart get their skates underneath them might you want to pair them together. Not now, that is. Hell, there’s no guarantee that Reinhart will stick and stay in Buffalo after training camp ends. He needs to sell out and give the team all that he has in the exhibition games. If that means playing third line center or wing, then so be it. Reinhart could benefit from an extended stay in Rochester and that’s where he may end up after training camp ends if Tim Murray can make a trade for an experienced right winger.
Enter Kyle Okposo, who checks all of Murray’s boxes, and then some.
Okposo could be on the trading block, according to two league sources outside the Islanders' organization. Newsday’s Arthur Staple suggests that Okposo may be leaving Brooklyn.
Okposo is a $2.8 million cap hit this season.
The Islanders have gotten nice return on investment on their 5 year, $14M investment in Okposo.
Okposo is Tim Murray’s type of player to a tee. He just turned 27 years of age in April. He is a perfect fit for Buffalo in terms of his age, size, penchant for truculence and slick skill set. Okposo would add immediate scoring, leadership and credibility to the Buffalo lineup. He plays big, strong, fast and hard.
In 71 games in 2013-14, he scored 27 goals and added 42 assists in 71 games played. He also racked up 51 PIMs. This past season, he scored 18 goals and added 33 assists in just 60 games played. Scoring 51 points in 60 games is not too shabby in a league where offense is nearly impossible to create on a game to game basis. Murray would love to add a power forward who can push the pace, score with frequency--- 120 points and 45 goals the past two seasons--- skate with top-end speed, and smash faces on the walls and in the enemy’s blue paint.
Okposo, 6'0 and 220 lbs., would have easily scored 25+ goals last season, however, he missed 22 games after emergency surgery to repair a detached retina in January.
Three other factors that bode well for Okposo being traded Buffalo:
1. He is a paltry $2.8 million cap hit in 2015-16.
2. Okposo was a one man wrecking ball against Dan Bylsma and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2012-13 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders battered the Penguins with extreme prejudice and were eliminated in six games. Okposo scored 3 goals and added an assist in six games played.
3. Okposo is the best friend and former line mate of Sabres forward Matt Moulson. They have instant chemistry having played together on the Island for years.
Imagine the night sweats that a Moulson-Eichel-Okposo trio would cause for opposing NHL coaches. Each member of this proposed line could easily accumulate 50-60 points next season. That's 150-180 points from the Moulson-Eichel-Okposo line. Impressive. Factor that in with a potential for 150-180 points from the Kane-O'Reilly-Ennis line and the Sabres could top six forwards could easily account for 300-360 points next season. That's a far cry from the production, or lack thereof, that the patchwork Buffalo top six has provided the past two seasons.
Adding Okposo makes a ton of sense for Tim Murray to do.
For now, Okposo is the right hand man of John Tavares in Brooklyn. However, if a new contract agreement can’t be reached in the next month, Okposo may well be on his way to a new team.
Word out of Brooklyn is that there have been zero contract extension talks between the Islanders and Okposo, who’s eligible next summer for UFA status.
Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Garth Snow has a reputation of dragging out contract negotiations.
Okposo will be activating the final season of his current five-year, $14-million contract when pucks drop on the regular season in one month. Okposo is believed to be seeking a long term contract in the 6-7 year term for a $6 million AAV. Do not be surprised to see an Okposo trade coming in the near future. The Islanders are deep at right wing and have Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey finally developed to the point that they can make significant contributions in the Islanders top six forward group. Okposo is a fine player and appears to have found his groove after struggling to find consistency in his first few NHL seasons. At this point Okposo, 27, who was as the seventh overall selection in the 2006 NHL Draft out of the legendary University of Minnesota program may be expendable to the Brooklyn Islanders.
At what price Okposo?
Tim Murray could deal some of his forward depth to the Isles. Namely, Johann Larsson. Perhaps even Marcus Foligno. With Jamie McGinn and David Legwand in Buffalo now, there will be two fewer roster spots available after training camp. McGinn, a robust, nasty power forward, can skate and is capable of scoring 20-25 goals in the NHL. He has scored 19 goals recently. Legwand will see regular playing time in the bottom six. He is a useful, resourceful veteran center who will add immediate value on the bench, on the plane, and in the room. He will be a mentor and a leader of the young group of Sabres.
Larsson won’t be happy (for the umpteenth time in his Sabres career) when he gets sent packing for Rochester at the end of training camp. Dan Bylsma and Tim Murray didn’t bring him to Buffalo. Darcy Regier did. Ditto Big Marcus, who injured his right hand in a fight while defending Gionta in Boston last season. Foligno is capable of scoring 15 goals and chipping in 10 assists per season along with 60 PIMs. His health has undermined his time on ice the past two seasons. He suffered a shoulder injury in 2013-14 that required offseason surgery last summer. Foligno needs to make an immediate statement to his new head coach when training camp doors opens on September 18. If that means fighting McGinn, Zach Bogosian or any other comers during practices then so be it. Foligno will have to light the lamp, finish checks, and play a rambunctious style in the exhibition games if he wants to cement his spot in the Buffalo lineup. Tim Murray once traded Marcus’ brother Nick from Ottawa. If Murray wants to add Okposo, he may just trade another Foligno, too. I'm not recommending a Marcus Foligno trade because I know the player and I respect his work ethic. He will arrive at camp ready like never before to battle for his roster spot.
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