While the Penguins do have $20 million in cap space and the 14th overall pick in this month’s NHL draft, significant changes or upgrades could be difficult in the short term.ĭubas inherits a team that was the oldest in the NHL last season and is littered with question marks, particularly in goal and the forward group outside of Crosby, Malkin and Jake Guentzel. Yet save for a 14-2-2 stretch in November and December, the Penguins struggled to find consistency and ultimately stumbled down the stretch to snap the longest active playoff streak in major North American Sports. I think it is a group that’s capable of contending to win a championship.”Ĭrosby and Malkin were excellent for much of last season and Letang showed remarkable resiliency while dealing with multiple setbacks, including a stroke and the death of his father. “But I’m going to bet on them and go with them here. “I heard a lot of people that were highly skeptical of the team’s ability to contend here and the way I view it, if the people want to bet against (Crosby, Letang and Malkin) they can go ahead and do so,” Dubas said. Dubas replaces Brian Burke, who was fired along with general manager Ron Hextall in April after the Penguins failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Yet Dubas believes strongly the issue isn’t the age of the franchise’s core but deficiencies elsewhere on the roster. In Pittsburgh, his mission will be to prop open the Stanley Cup window for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang a little longer.Īll three are 35 or older and haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. In Toronto, he was tasked with helping the Maple Leafs emerge from two decades of postseason futility. The 37-year-old Dubas goes from one type of hockey crucible to another. PITTSBURGH (AP) Kyle Dubas wanted to take a breath and take a break after being fired as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.ĭubas joined the Penguins as the team’s president of hockey operations, less than two weeks after a somewhat ugly exit from Toronto following a second-round playoff loss to Florida. It’s a span that included such severe concussion-related symptoms that he spent nearly a week in Buffalo General Hospital’s Neuro Surgical ICU after he began losing weight and experienced difficulty sleeping following a routine hit in practice. Okposo endured a rash of concussions, experiencing four over a three-year stretch from 2017-’19. He’s continued playing despite having his career nearly sidetracked by several injuries scares. Though the team never played to its potential, Okposo eventually adopted Buffalo as a permanent home. At the time, Okposo viewed the Eichel-led Sabres as becoming contenders. His best season in Buffalo came two years ago, when he had 21 goals – his fourth 20-goal season – and 45 points.įrom Minnesota, Okposo spent his first nine seasons with the New York Islanders before signing with Buffalo in free agency in July 2016. Okposo had 11 goals and 28 points in 75 games while playing more of a checking line roll. Where other players wanted out of Buffalo because of the Sabres’ losing track record, Okposo expressed a desire to stay because of the promise he saw in a team that features young and up-and-coming stars such as Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. He was appointed captain to start this season after serving as an alternate in 2021-22 when Buffalo stripped Jack Eichel of the captaincy before finally trading him to Vegas. Okposo was credited for providing guidance and serving as the voice of a team that began the season with the NHL’s youngest roster. “It was extremely gratifying in a way, but at the same time extremely disappointing with how it ended.” “And that’s the first time in a long time that I think we can say that about our squad here,” he added. We’ve become a team,” Okposo said after Buffalo was eliminated with two games left. “I’m extremely proud to be a part of this group and to see how far we’ve come. Okposo was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after completing a seven-year, $42 million contract, and gets an opportunity to continue leading a team finally showing signs of being competitive.ĭespite extending an NHL-worst playoff drought to a 12th season, the Sabres fell two point short of making the playoffs and finished with 42 wins and 91 points – their most since last making the playoffs in 2011. The 35-year-old’s re-signing was anticipated after both the player and team expressed mutual interest in his return once Buffalo’s season ended last month. The young, retooled Buffalo Sabres can rely on Kyle Okposo’s veteran presence for at least one more season after the team captain signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |