'There's going to be changes' | Sabres react to Staal trade

Kyle Okposo stopped to wish Eric Staal well upon leaving the ice after practice at TD Garden on Friday.
The Buffalo Sabres completed a deal to acquire third- and fifth-round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Staal later that afternoon, making him the first pending unrestricted free agent to depart in advance of the April 12 trade deadline.
"Nobody's naïve here," Okposo said. "Everybody knows what's going on with the situation that we're in and we know that there's going to be changes coming. Still doesn't make it any easier.
"Found out about Staalsy right before practice and just got off the ice to go wish him well. He's a character guy. He's a really good person, he's a good man. He's had a heck of a career to date and he's going to continue to play well. So, I wish him nothing but the best."

Buffalo acquired Staal from the Minnesota Wild in September, a move designed to add veteran experience in the dressing room and a No. 2 center behind captain Jack Eichel. He was a popular figure on the team even as the season went awry.
"Even in these down times here he always came in with a positive mindset, was always a great guy, I think, to even just the young guys onward," Brandon Montour said. "Having him around the locker room and seeing his face just around the hotel, practices, games, it's great to have him here, for sure."
Staal tallied 10 points (3+7) in 32 games with the Sabres. He acknowledged recently that the season had not gone as expected, a roller coaster of a year in which the Sabres have dealt with a two-week pause due to COVID-19, injuries to multiple key players, and most recently a coaching change. All of it has added up to an ongoing 16-game winless streak (0-14-2).
Montour is one of eight pending unrestricted free agents on the active roster, a group that also includes forward Taylor Hall. Hall said following Thursday's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that he would be open to waiving his no-movement clause if approached about a deal.

"I can only control being on the ice," Montour said. "I'm not my agent or the GM. I think everybody knows I'm a UFA at the end of the year. Teams could be calling, could not be calling. That's not my decision. If I'm wearing a Buffalo Sabres jersey or whatever jersey, I'm a player and my job is to go on the ice, so that's all I'm focused on."
Here are more notes from Friday's practice.

Okposo, Thompson return

Okposo joined the team on the road after initially staying back in Buffalo due to an injury that flared up after practice on Sunday. The forward revealed his symptoms were reminiscent of the neck injury that ended his season in 2017.
"I was alarmed for sure," he said. "It's something that has been part of my life here over the past number of years and something that you I probably will continue to deal with. But I have a great team here in place and great people around me to work with that I know what to do and how to get through it. So, I'm happy that I dealt with hit quickly."
Okposo said it was too early to say whether he would be available to play against the Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
Thompson also re-joined the team after missing the past two games due to an illness. Interim head coach Don Granato had said prior to Thompson's absence that he hoped to see the 23-year-old winger benefit from consistent time in the lineup.
"I think if we can get him in the lineup consistently and get him to feel settled in, the work he's putting in lines up well with that," Granato said. "I feel that that's really a natural process, him feeling more confidence to feel more determined in scoring areas and puck battles - really a point of taking ownership."

Granato, Ellis clear COVID protocols

Granato and interim assistant coach Matt Ellis both cleared COVID protocols and were expected to join the team in Boston after practice on Friday, the team announced. Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert ran the session in their absence.
Granato and Ellis both missed the team's loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday in accordance with the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. General manager Kevyn Adams served as coach for the game.