The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 season ended with a 45-15-5 record, an Atlantic Division title and a run to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, where they fell in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens. In a year that brought plenty of positive grades across the roster, coaching staff and management, Tage Thompson stands out as one of the biggest reasons Buffalo got there.
Thompson, a right winger, earned an A for a season that again put him at the center of the Sabres’ offense. He led Buffalo with 40 goals and 81 points in 81 games, marking the third time in his career that he reached the 40-goal plateau. His best point total still came in 2022-23, when he piled up 94 points in 78 games, but this season reinforced his place as the team’s most important offensive weapon.
The numbers only tell part of the story. Thompson’s $7.1 million cap hit, which runs for four more seasons, makes him one of the league’s best bargains.
At the same time, the pressure on him keeps rising. Buffalo is no longer trying to end a drought; now the expectation is to keep pushing deeper, and that won’t get any easier in a sharply improved Atlantic Division.
There’s also the matter of what Thompson can become next. In his first NHL postseason, he posted 10 assists and 15 points in 13 games while averaging 19:58 of ice time.
During the regular season, Lindy Ruff gave him 19:15 per night, the most Thompson has ever logged. Buffalo leaned on him more than ever, and he handled it.
This was also the first season Thompson played 81 games or more. That matters even more now that Alex Tuch has left for the Washington Capitals and Bowen Byram has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sabres are going to need Thompson to carry even more of the scoring load moving forward.
He’s set to remain Buffalo’s top-line winger for the foreseeable future, and the ceiling still looks higher. Five of his 25 career regular-season game-winning goals came this season, and if that number climbs next year, the Sabres will feel even better about his contract. Thompson ranked No. 32 in this year’s ranking of the NHL top players, and while he isn’t a top-10 talent, Buffalo’s path still runs through him and the rest of its core.
The next step is obvious: more from Thompson in the biggest moments. If he pushes toward 50 goals, the Sabres could be looking at something even bigger. For now, though, he did almost everything asked of him in 2025-26, and that’s why the grade lands where it does.
In Other News...
Sabres May Finally Have Their Goalie But The Cost Looks Serious
Connor Hellebuycks future in Winnipeg is suddenly looking shaky, and the Sabres are right in the middle of the conversation. EJ Hradek raised the possibility that the Jets goalie may have already played his last game for the club, with Winnipeg apparently preparing to move him and Buffalo among the teams talking as both sides explore what a deal might look like.
The appeal is obvious for Buffalo, which would be getting one of the leagues premier goalies and a major on-paper upgrade. The price, though, is where this gets tricky. Winnipeg is believed to want a second-center type back, and the Sabres have already seen depth come off the roster with Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram gone, so any serious push for Hellebuyck would have to balance the urgency of landing a star against the cost of stripping more from the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres May Be Eyeing Another Risky Answer To A Familiar Need
The Sabres are still sorting through the fallout of missing out on Patrick Kane, and the search for another top-six answer has pushed them back into the trade market. Buffalo has a clear need to add more scoring and stability up front, and the conversation has started to turn toward players who can bring both offense and reliable two-way play.
One name that has surfaced is Bryan Rust, whose production last season showed why he would draw interest from a team looking to deepen its lineup. He finished with 29 goals and 36 assists in 72 games, a kind of output that could make him an appealing fit for Buffalos second line while also giving the club help in special teams situations. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres May Have A Real Answer For Their Scoring Problem
Buffalos search for extra offense has taken on a familiar urgency after the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram left another hole to fill. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen is still weighing ways to replace that production, and the Sabres are at least looking in the direction of a veteran scorer who could bring a proven finishing touch without forcing the roster into a corner.
The appeal is obvious on paper: an unsigned winger with a track record of putting up big goal totals and enough experience to slide into a top-six role if the fit is right. What makes the situation worth watching is whether the contract side can line up with Buffalos cap picture, because if it does, the Sabres may have a realistic path to adding the kind of scoring punch that has been missing. [Read more 🡒]