Johnson, Okposo Drawing Interest From Contenders
Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams could be fielding a lot of calls with four days left before the NHL trade deadline. Although the Sabres do not have major targets like Anaheim’s Adam Henrique or Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel, they do have veteran players that many contenders are looking toward as depth pieces.
In his weekly “Rink Fries” column, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek mentioned Sabres team captain Kyle Okposo and defenseman Erik Johnson as names that are circulating and could be on the move before March 8.
Both 35-year-olds are unrestricted free agents and may be considering retirement after the season. Okposo is rumored to be open to a trade to a contender, and the likelihood of that occurring increased after the Sabres 5-2 loss to Winnipeg on Sunday kept them 10 points behind Tampa Bay and Detroit for an Eastern Conference wildcard spot. Insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned Okposo’s name in connection to the New York Rangers, who lost winger Blake Wheeler to a season-ending leg injury last month.
Johnson, who has been out of the Sabres lineup with an illness the last week, is also drawing interest and indicated his willingness to go elsewhere if Adams approached him.
"If Kevin comes to me, and that's what he wants to do, and it's for the best of the team, then I'll go for it and get moved," Johnson said last week. "Right now, I'm just taking it day by day, focusing on the team and the guys and just coming in and working hard and helping them anyway can and when that time comes, we'll talk about it."
Forwards Zemgus Girgensons, Eric Robinson, Victor Olofsson and goalie Eric Comrie are on expiring contracts.
Girgensons said after scoring a goal in a 7-2 victory over Vegas on Saturday that he had spoken to Adams about the deadline, but chose to keep the discussion confidential. In some or all of these potential deals, the Sabres will likely need to retain some salary to increase their return and fit under their trade partner's salary cap.
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