The Buffalo Sabres have a lot of talent, but so far, most of that talent have been one-season wonders besides a flash here and there.
The Buffalo Sabres finally have players who fans can look fondly at and deem them potential franchise cornerstones. But none of the players listed in today’s article have seen consistent success in the NHL despite putting up solid to even spectacular 2021-22 campaigns.
If the trio listed below and in the following two slides pull off even serviceable outings next season, expect them to remain in the Queen City for quite some time. But if they cannot, either their days or their current role with the team will be numbered. Who are these three players? Keep reading for more.
Which Buffalo Sabres will have the hottest seats in 2022-23? Player #1 – Tage Thompson
Thompson led the Buffalo Sabres last season with 38 goals, 30 assists, and 68 points. He also shot at a solid 15.0 percent. Thompson further picked it up big time in the takeaway column, logging 49 of them over 78 games, good for 0.628 per contest. His best outing in the category before this came in 2017-18 when he recorded 20 in 41 games with the St. Louis Blues, good for 0.487 per.
Thompson’s possession metrics at even strength also showed off his vast improvement. For the first time in his career, his Corsi For Percentage (CF%) sat north of 50 percent barring his 53.8% in just one game back in 2019-20. Further, his Corsi For Relative Percentage (CF% rel) finished at 4.0.
The same went for his Team On-Ice Shooting Percentage at Even Strength (oiSH%), which finished at 11.8, a 4.6-point increase from 2020-21. And all of the above are just select numbers regarding Thompson, and it shows just how much more effective the Sabres were offensively when he was on the ice.
So now the question bodes: Can Tage Thompson do it again? If so, the Buffalo Sabres will look to sign him to at least a bridge extension over two seasons. But up until last season, Thompson wore the bust label.