NHL Contracts: Each team’s worst deal

Buffalo Sabres: Kyle Okposo

Contract: Five years remaining, $6 million cap hit, $24 million total salary remaining, 15-team no-trade list.

The Buffalo Sabres signed forward Kyle Okposo to a massive seven-year deal worth $42 million in 2016. Seriously, the 2016 offseason is a great example of why overpaying for players on the first day of free agency is a really bad idea.

Now, to be fair, Okposo has been productive in Buffalo. He has two straight 40 point seasons in a Sabres jersey. Combined, Okposo has 34 goals and 89 points in Buffalo, which isn’t awful. But you’d expect more from someone who’s getting paid $6 million a year. And guess what? Okposo just turned 30 years old. Oh boy.

The 2016 offseason is a great example of why overpaying for players on the first day of free agency is a really bad idea

If this is the best the Sabres will get from Okposo, they’ll regret his long-term deal for a very long time. The worst part is his deal is next to impossible to buy out since $11 million of his remaining $24 million on his deal is a yearly signing bonus. Buyout proof deals like Okposo’s are probably going to be a huge part of the negotiations during the next lockout.

All of this said, part of his decline has been due to an unforeseen injury. Okposo suffered a serious injury towards the end of the 2016-17 season. That’s something the Sabres could not have known when they signed him. And it has played a substantial role in his decline since signing in Buffalo.