Insider Says Sabres Almost Traded Tage Thompson

Picture Tage Thompson on a different team other than the Buffalo Sabres and where the team and he would be at if a trade happened. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Sabres almost traded Thompson for a fifth round pick a couple of seasons ago when he was struggling.

The team wasn't revealed, but whatever team it was, they wouldn't give up a fifth round pick for Thompson. The Sabres decided to keep him.

Not much was expected of Thompson at age 21 when he first suited up for the Sabres after being acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Blues. He played most of the 2018-19 season, spent the following season in the AHL, and returned to play 38 games for the Sabres in 2020-21. It must've been in 2020-21 when Thompson only scored eight goals in 14 points at age 23 when they thought he wasn't going to be the player they hoped.

Flash forward to one season later and Thompson is one of the best players in the NHL. He has scored the eighth-most goals (63) and 22nd most points in the league (117) since the start of last season. Thompson ranks second in the NHL in goals this season (25) and third in points (49) in just 31 games. The Sabres aren't ready to get into the playoffs just yet, but if they didn't have their number one centre, they would be much further away.