Take a bow, Kyle Okposo.
Less than three months after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, the 36-year-old forward announced his retirement on Thursday.
The seventh-overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Okposo recorded 554 points (242 goals, 327 assists) over 1,051 career games with the New York islanders (2007-2016), Buffalo Sabres (2017-2023) Panthers (2024).
In March, he was traded from Buffalo to Florida.
“In my heart, I would’ve regretted not taking a shot and not trying to contribute to something special,” Okposo, who was captain of the Sabres prior to the trade, said shortly after the deal went down. “They (my family) understand that and are full supportive.”
In the end, that shot led to a storybook ending.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Okposo proved to be a perfect fit for the Panthers in their run to the Stanley Cup. He suited up in 17 games during the playoffs, including the series-clinching win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
He now rides off into the sunset as a champion for life.
“He fit in seamlessly," said forward Evan Rodrigues, a teammate of Okposo's both in Buffalo and Florida. "He’s just a good person. To the core, he’s a good human being. He’s lighthearted, fun-loving. He just brought another character to kind of our room of them. He was nothing but positive every day. You could see he was really taking in every day. He never wasted a day. I don’t know if he came here knowing he was going to be done and retire after the year, but you could tell he was just really enjoying it all with a smile on his face. He obviously had some big plays in the playoffs. I couldn’t be happier that he’s going out the way he did.”
You can read his statement in the post below.
