SUNRISE, Fla. — On what possibly could be the last morning of Kyle Okposo’s 17-year NHL career, the only piece of news to come out of the Panthers’ morning skate involved him.
After being a healthy scratch for Game 6, Okposo was reinserted for the winner-take-all Game 7 at Amerant Bank Arena as the Panthers tried to not only hoist the first Stanley Cup in franchise history but also stave off the ignominy of a reverse sweep — losing the final four games of the series after capturing the first three.
Coach Paul Maurice said this was a hockey decision, that he’d liked Okposo’s last three games a little more than those of the player he replaced, Nick Cousins.
Maurice said the agonizing part was telling Cousins he wouldn’t be dressing for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and that the player handled the news well.
But as a human-interest story, most people in the hockey world likely were happy to see Okposo compete for a chance to lift the Cup at the end of a run that included 13 seasons with the Islanders and Sabres that landed outside the playoffs.
“I don’t think you can really know how your career is going to go,” the 36-year-old Okposo told The Post inside the locker room at the Panthers’ practice facility. “You just do the best you can in the moment you’re provided and for me, it was nine great years on Long Island and almost eight in Buffalo and now I’m here.
“I’ve just enjoyed every minute of my career,” he continued, “through the ups and the downs because some of the most challenging times are the ones you’re going to look back on as the most fun.”
One of those moments came in the second game of Okposo’s career, when as a 19-year-old he scored his first NHL goal against the legendary Martin Brodeur.
Billy Jaffe, covering the Stanley Cup Final for NHL Network, was broadcasting that game alongside Howie Rose on Islanders radio.
“I remember him scoring but I don’t remember the goal itself. I don’t have that kind of memory,” Jaffe said. “I just remember him coming in being a warm individual. Very articulate, very poised. He had a long way to grow as a rookie, but he came in, he [was] a strong kid, and I remember his smile.
“Here’s a guy who’s always a first-class human being. He’s worked his ass off, done things the right way,” Jaffe added. “[He] hasn’t had a lot of playoff experience, so I’m sure it’s been challenging at times. He’s always been a leader, but now he’s grown into the role of a sage veteran and that’s why he was brought to Florida.”
Surrounded by some much younger teammates in a corner of the Panthers’ locker room, Okposo was asked if he thought an older player in potentially his final go-round would have more of an appreciation for winning that first Stanley Cup.
“Obviously, in the stages of life I’m relatively young, but in the stages of a hockey player’s career I’m definitely on the back end. I’m probably in my 80s,” Okposo said with a smile. “I have a different perspective than a 20-year-old rookie, for sure. I just appreciate it differently.
“It would just be a great feather in the cap and something I’ve worked my whole life for.”
