BUFFALO, N.Y. — Saturday was the first round of locker room cleanouts for a Buffalo Sabres team that ended up missing the playoffs, extending their postseason drought to 12 years, by just one point.
There aren't many questions about the Buffalo roster heading into the offseason. Veteran goalie Craig Anderson said after likely his final NHL start on Thursday night, "This is it."
Sabres veteran captain Kyle Okposo ran out his seven-year contract at the end of the season. He isn't certain he'll return, but his teammates have a mighty vote of confidence for him.
"He's obviously the rock of our team. He's the leader and I think for me personally he's just, he's just always there for you. There's nothing more you can really ask for," forward Casey Mittelstadt said. "He's always got your back whatever you need. You can always call Okie, so he's a pretty special guy."
Jordan Greenway just joined the team after the NHL trade deadline, coming to Buffalo from the Minnesota Wild.
"I've had a lot of experiences in this league. So just to have a guy like that around and who cares so much about like, truthfully, probably everyone else myself is. You know, it's really great to be a part of," Greenway said about his new captain.
Okposo said he hadn't made a decision yet about next season, but it's likely Buffalo or bust. He's helped build the organization into what GM Kevyn Adams was hoping for - egoless.
"It's just these young guys. You know, they want to learn, they want to come to the rink and they care about each other and you know, and in the NHL, you know, you have a lot of different egos. You have a lot of guys that want things for themselves," Okposo said.
"We're very fortunate on this team where if you head to the bench when there's a goal scored, everybody's so genuinely happy for that person, and that's not always the case."