Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson followed up a career-best season with…. well, another career-best season.
Total Season Stats: 47-47–94 in 78 games played
Age: 25
Contract Status: Signed through 2029-30, $7.142 million AAV starting next season
Elite. Successful. Proven. Validation.
Those are some of the responses I got when I asked on Twitter for one word to describe Tage Thompson’s 2022-2023 season – all certainly accurate for the 25-year-old coming off an unbelievable season. Thompson set career highs in goals, assists and points, nearly doubling his NHL career totals across the board – in a single season.
Based on last season, we knew Thompson was poised for greatness, when he exploded for 68 points in 78 games. Coming off that season, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams gave Thompson a vote of confidence with a seven-year extension worth $50 million. If that season was a breakout year, this season was just… unreal. His development over the past few years and his growth has been outstanding.
Last season, we graded Thompson an A. Hard to top that, but if anyone is deserving of an A+, it’s him. Some of the feats he accomplished this season:
- Career highs in goals, assists, points
- Four hat tricks
- Two six-point games
- First Sabres player to score four goals in a period in team history
- Second Sabres player in team history to score five goals in a game
- First five-point first period in team history
- Fastest set of four goals scored by a single player to open a game in NHL history
- First Sabres skater with 45+ goals in a season since 1993
- First Sabres player with 90+ points since 2007
It’s a laundry list of accolades and accomplishments, and it speaks for itself. Thompson had the best season of his career. You can’t ask for much more than that… aside from maybe another career-best season? (Especially considering his extension kicks in, which will more than quintuple his AAV.)
Thompson is an exciting player to watch, and still only 25 years old. Sabres fans should be excited to see what he does as his development continues.
Season Grade: A+