5 best bargain forwards the Blackhawks can target in free agency

Davidson needs to talk Kyle Okposo into returning for one more year

We got a couple of higher-tier free agents out of the way, but if players like Foegele and Srpong stick with their current teams, there are other options. One player is 35-year-old Kyle Okposo, whom the Buffalo Sabres recently traded to the Florida Panthers. 

Okposo may call it a career after this season, but perhaps Davidson can lure him to the Windy City for a year to provide leadership for a young Chicago Blackhawks team. Few players in the NHL have made greater impacts over the last few seasons with young organizations when you look at how well Okposo navigated through tough times with the Sabres and even helped them overachieve last year. 

At this point in his career, Okposo is nothing more than a fourth-liner who will give you 12 minutes per game on average. But he’s also become a solid defensive forward whose presence would also help keep games more manageable for Chicago in 2024-25 if he decides to play another season if Davidson is interested in signing him, and if Okposo is interested in going to Chicago.

Ultimately, it will come down to what happens with the Panthers this season that will dictate what Okposo will do. Should they win the Stanley Cup, he’s either retiring or would be willing to play the leadership role for another young hockey team. This is assuming he’s not interested in signing with another contender, of course.