Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 10, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Kyle Okposo doesn’t see himself as “the old guy without a Stanley Cup.”
Even if everyone else does.
“I don’t look at myself like I’m Joe Pavelski or all of these other guys that have been around for a long time. I just don’t see myself like that,” the 36-year-old Florida Panthers forward said, citing the recently retired 39-year-old Dallas Stars center. “I just see myself on the team. I am going to go pick up pucks after practice if there’s a puck standing there. That’s just kind of how I live my life.”
But in every playoff series the Panthers have won this postseason, Okposo has gotten the questions. About playing 17 seasons and 1,051 games in the NHL without winning the Cup. About joining Florida at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres, going from a team that never made the playoffs with Okposo on the roster to one returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season.
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About being closer than he’s ever been before to being an old guy with a Stanley Cup.
Okposo understands how others see him. He just doesn’t vibe with it.
“When I don’t have a perception of myself, but other people do of me, that’s where I just … I don’t really get it,” he said. “I just kind of shyly put my head down and walk away. But it’s been a ton of fun for the guys to embrace that aspect of it. I’m just trying to win for them.”
So is it OK if his Panthers teammates bring it up? To use it for motivation?
“Yeah, no, it’s … I mean, it is a little bit weird,” Okposo said. “Like I said, I don’t see myself like that, but I know that the guys do, so I appreciate it. But at the same time, if somebody says something, I’m probably just going to go skate the other way.”
While he’s uncomfortable with having the focus on him, he’s quite candid about how exciting it is to be this close to winning a championship. Even if others aren’t.
“I’m going to talk about…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40315161/nhl-playoffs-2024-stanley-cup-final-panthers-oilers-ogwac-old-guys-cup
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-10 11:15:26
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