The Buffalo Sabres wrapped up their 2016-17 home schedule with an upset of the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, but their attention has almost certainly been on one of their own players instead.
Kyle Okposo, specifically.
The longtime New York Islanders forward, who went on to earn All-Star honors as a first-year Sabre this season, has not taken the ice since March 27 thanks to what Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma has repeatedly called an “illness.” Reports from WGR-AM 550 and the Buffalo News indicate that Okposo, presumed out for the Sabres’ final two games, is now hospitalized in intensive care.
Okposo is reportedly being treated at the Neuro Surgical ICU at Buffalo General Medical Center. As the Buffalo News highlighted, neurological ICU units are often designed to serve patients with neurological injuries such as strokes and brain trauma or hemorrhages.
Bylsma has not been hesitant to address Okposo’s absence, at one point, according to the News, saying he was “very concerned” about the missing Sabre’s health. But he has also joined Okposo’s teammates in declining to speculate on the nature of the illness, which has kept Okposo, 28, out of four games.
“Kyle continues to be under the care of our doctors as he deals with symptoms from an illness,” the Sabres added in a Wednesday night statement. “Out of respect to Kyle and his family, we will have no further comment at this time.”
In the meantime, several of Okposo’s teammates, including defenseman Zach Bogosian and fellow forward Matt Moulson, have expressed support for their ill counterpart, emphasizing Buffalo’s on-ice “family.”