Sabres Roll The Dice On Tage Thompson

The Buffalo Sabres got some business done a few weeks before the beginning of training camp, signing center Tage Thompson to a seven-year, $50 million contract extension on Tuesday.

Thompson was selected in the first round by St. Louis in 2016 and was part of the trade that sent Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis in 2018. After three seasons of inconsistency and injury, the 24-year-old found his way last season after being shifted to center by Sabres head coach Don Granato, scoring a career-high 38 goals and 68 points.

“This is a place I want to be at for a very long time,” Thompson said in April. “I want to be a guy that helps this team win and make the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup, and obviously those are all just words and you’ve got to put that into action.”

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Sabres GM Kevyn Adams jumped at the opportunity to get Thompson locked up, in spite of having a year remaining on a three-year, $4.2 million deal and another year of salary arbitration before qualifying for unrestricted free agency.

“Tage Thompson embodies the pride we expect from every player who wears the Buffalo Sabres sweater,” Adams said in a press release. “His success last season is a testament to his unrelenting dedication to his craft and commitment to bettering the team both on and off the ice, which we believe will help us reach even greater heights moving forward. We are thrilled to extend Tage, keeping him and his family in Buffalo for many years to come.”

Buffalo appears to be a club on the upswing, with franchise cornerstones in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power to build around, but the Thompson extension involves some risk, as they are making a significant investment in a player who had only one great season. The Sabres are hopeful that Thompson can replace former top-line center Jack Eichel, who they similarly chose to extend for eight years a full year before his entry-level contract was up.