Okposo signs 1-year, $2.5 million contract with Sabres

Kyle Okposo signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to stay with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old forward could have been an unrestricted free agent July 1. He had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 75 games this season, his first as Sabres captain, and wanted to be back to help them take the next step. Buffalo (42-33-7) failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, finishing one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. The Sabres' 91 points were their most since 2011-12 (89).

"There is definitely some unfinished business, for sure," Okposo said Thursday. "I've been through a lot here, as everybody on this call knows, and I just think we're scratching the surface."

The Panthers, the last team into the playoffs in the East, will play in the Stanley Cup Final after finishing their four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

"I think that it's pretty evident by what's happened in the playoffs this year that we're not very far from reaching the top of the mountain and it's something that I had set out to do when I had my introductory press conference, and I did not know how much work was gonna have to go into it," Okposo said. "But I think that we're extremely close. So, definitely some unfinished business and, personally, I would like to be a lot better as well."

Okposo said the Sabres need to embrace the fact that they could be viewed as a playoff contender next season.

"We can't be scared about the expectations. There's going to be expectations next year. You guys know it," he said. "Last year, there was no expectations. And everybody's writing rosy articles and this group is a good team, it's becoming a good team. And that's great, but how do you do that with expectations?

"There are guys that are starting to get bigger contracts, there are guys that are starting to get noticed nationally. There's going to be lofty expectations next year, and I think that we can't run from that. You have to set your goal. And should our goal be to make the playoffs? And should our goal be to be two points better than we were this year? No. Let's accept it, let's accept it now."

He said Buffalo's time to win is now.

"You set the goal of winning a Stanley Cup, and then you don't touch that and you don't let that weigh you down at all from the day to day of the season," Okposo said. "You set that goal and you know that it's there, and then you take it a day at a time and you get better, like (general manager) Kevyn (Adams) has always said and like (coach) Donny (Granato) says, you want to get better every day.

"But we cannot run from those expectations anymore. Like, the time is now, the time is, like I said, our window, I think it's opening and we have to be prepared for that. And everybody's got to come better, starting with me. And I think that that's the expectation we have to set.

Selected by the New York Islanders in the first round (No. 7) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Okposo has 592 points (230 goals, 362 assists) in 984 regular-season games for the Sabres and Islanders and 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 24 playoff games.

Okposo said his family played a big role in him coming back for another season.

"So, my son, Odin, was the first one to find out," Okposo said. "And I got a call and I was in my bedroom, I was about to put him to bed, saying the deal was done. So, he comes out to just brush his teeth and I looked at him and I told him that I'm going to come back and play another year. His reaction was ... his reaction was worth it.

"Sometimes I forget how much it means to them, especially my older two kids. I told (my daughter) Ellie about 20 minutes later. She was driving back from getting ready for her dance recital. I went for a walk and her and (my wife) Danielle pulled up in the car. I told them and then when I heard them driving away, I heard her scream so loud because they were just so happy and excited. It definitely is a huge factor in my decision-making, your family, because you're not just thinking about yourself. You're thinking about them and what this means to them as well."

NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report