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Tage Thompson

#72 · Centre · Buffalo Sabres

Born Oct 30, 1997 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA (age 28) · 6'6", 220 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 26th overall in 2016 by STL (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2026-27. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alex DeBrincat DET · 4 P in 3 GP Artturi Lehkonen COL · 4 P in 3 GP Beckett Sennecke ANA · 4 P in 3 GP Ben Kindel PIT · 4 P in 3 GP Brayden Schenn NYI · 4 P in 3 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0204060802017-18: 9 points917-182018-19: 12 points1218-192019-20: 0 points019-202020-21: 14 points1420-212021-22: 68 points6821-222022-23: 94 points9422-232023-24: 56 points5623-242024-25: 72 points7224-252025-26: 81 points8125-262026-27: 4 points426-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2017-18 STL 41 3 6 9 -12 12 55 39 0.22 $925K
2018-19 BUF 65 7 5 12 -22 20 108 66 0.18 $925K
2019-20 BUF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00 $925K
2020-21 BUF 38 8 6 14 -6 17 96 25 0.37 $1.4M
2021-22 BUF 78 38 30 68 -17 37 253 66 0.87 $1.4M
2022-23 BUF 78 47 47 94 4 39 295 55 1.21 $1.4M
2023-24 BUF 71 29 27 56 -1 43 246 79 0.79 $7.143M
2024-25 BUF 76 44 28 72 -2 35 242 70 0.95 $7.143M
2025-26 BUF 81 40 41 81 -6 35 272 85 1.00 $7.143M
2026-27 BUF 3 2 2 4 3 2 17 3 1.33 $7.143M
10 seasons Career 532 218 192 410 -59 240 1584 490 0.77

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 BUF 13 5 10 15 0 22 46 20 1.15
1 season Playoffs 13 5 10 15 0 22 46 20 1.15

2026-27 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
3 2 2 4 3 2 17 3 1.33 11.8 19:57

Contract

$7.143MCap hitends in 2030, then UFA
$1.786MCap dollars per point4 points in 3 games
$668KCap dollars per goal above replacement10.7 goals above replacement, projected
$11MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$3.9MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. The season is still being played, so each rating is projected over all of it: what the player has done so far, plus the games left at a rate taken from his last three seasons and this one. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 647 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Aug 30, 2022, as an extension of the contract he was on: 7 years and $50M, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2029-30, with 3 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2023-24 $7.143M $5.143M $2M $7.143M
2024-25 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC
2025-26 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC
2026-27 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC
2027-28 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC
2028-29 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC
2029-30 $7.143M $7.143M $0 $7.143M M-NTC

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Aug 30, 2022 Buffalo Sabres Extension 2023-24 to 2029-30 7 $50M $7.143M
Oct 5, 2020 Buffalo Sabres Extension 2020-21 to 2022-23 3 $4.2M $1.4M
Mar 7, 2017 St. Louis Blues Entry-level 2017-18 to 2019-20 3 $3.413M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2026-27 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2026-27 analytics

Rating, projected over the full season

2026-27 is still being played, so these are a projection of his whole season, not a count so far: what he has done in 3 games (+0.7 goals above replacement), plus the 77 more he is taken to play, going by how much of his team's games he has played before, at a rate set by his last three seasons and this one. The more he plays, the more this season counts, and by the last game it is simply his season.

+10.7Goals above replacement57th of 647 skaters, 46th of 422 forwards
+1.8Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+6.5Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 422 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+7.4 96th percentileEven-strength defence-1.5 20th percentilePower play+0.0 66th percentilePenalty kill0.0 32nd percentilePenalties+0.6 66th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance.

-50510152017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

54.3Corsi for %50 attempts for, 42 against
-6.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
65.6Expected goals for %2.9 expected for, 1.5 against
+6.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
66.7Goals for %2 for, 1 against
101.5PDO7.4% shooting + 94.1% saves
21Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Tage Thompson · Josh Norris · Josh Doan330:2158.769.11-0
Tage Thompson · Peyton Krebs · Jiri Kulich15:0050.091.71-0
Tage Thompson · Peyton Krebs · Josh Doan34:4133.327.20-0
Tage Thompson · Peyton Krebs · Konsta Helenius21:1966.799.50-0

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.3Expected goalsfrom 24 unblocked attempts
-0.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 2.35 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 9.8% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -0.3 goals above expected1stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 0 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Expected 2.3Goals 2

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Oct 6, 2026 vs MIN W 3-2 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 9 0 20:23
Oct 3, 2026 vs CHI W 4-3 1 1 2 2 0 4 2 19:41
Oct 1, 2026 @ CBJ L 3-6 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 19:46