Buffalo Sabres 2025-26 Player Grades: Tage Thompson – The Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are coming off their best season in nearly two decades. They won the Atlantic Division and dispatched their hated foes, the Boston Bruins, in the first round. Despite bowing out in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, the vibes are high.

In this series, we will look at each roster player and assign them a grade based on their production and the intangibles that don’t necessarily make the stat sheet. Today, we begin with one of the most recognizable and productive players on the list: Tage Thompson.

Production

On paper, his numbers are the best he’s had since his breakout 2022-23 season. Thompson scored 40 goals, the third time in four seasons that he’s managed to hit the 40-goal mark. That put him just a few goals outside of the top 10, and he has been a perennial threat to do just that.

Thompson also found more of a playmaking side to his game, particularly down the stretch. He registered 41 assists, the second-most of his career. When opponents were keying in on him, he managed to remain dangerous by finding teammates all over the ice.

Thompson has always had one of the game’s most dangerous shot and it shows in the 198 goals he scored in 392 games since the start of the 2021-22 season. Now that he’s added that playmaking element, he’s become an all-around, point-per-game threat that can carry a good team like the Sabres.

Intangibles

One of the overall reasons the Sabres took such a marked step forward this season is their overall attitude. The culture, as some have termed it. They simply got tired of losing and showed a level of drive and fight that had not been there before. Thompson is perhaps one of the most notable to have taken that step.

In the past, Thompson could disappear for stretches, impressive given his 6-foot-6 frame. He had fewer of those in 2025-26, using his size more effectively and finding other ways to contribute when shots weren’t finding the back of the net.

Though he at times struggled with turnovers in the playoffs, Thompson was impressive in the playoffs. He led the team with 15 points in 13 game, playing with a level of tenacity that hadn’t exactly been commonplace for him previously.

Overall Grade: A-

For a guy who scored 44 goals last season, the 2025-26 campaign was a marked step forward for Thompson. He kept up his goal-scoring pace while taking a noticeable step forward as a playmaker and developing some real “oomph” to his game.

It should also be noted that he played the most on a nightly basis in his career, 19:15 per game. That increased responsibility should not be ignored, especially as he turned in just the second point-per-game season of his career.

Thompson is in the prime of his career offensively and is moving toward something resembling respectable in regard to his two-way game. He won’t ever be a Selke Trophy candidate, but he is no longer the liability he once was and the Sabres are markedly better for it.

Can He Continue To Grow in 2026-27?

Outwardly, Thompson feels like a more mature leader. He wants more than simple productivity. While it would be nice to have his running mate Alex Tuch back, that is far from a given. If the Sabres are going to remain contenders, they are going to lean heavily on Thompson to be one of their go-to forwards.