Buffalo Sabres star center Tage Thompson hasn’t played since November 14th because of a wrist/hand injury, so will he return in Week 9?
While things are looking bleak for the Buffalo Sabres on the injury front, it’s not all doom and gloom regarding star center Tage Thompson. Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat recently posted encouraging news regarding Tage on X late Sunday night.
Tage Thompson has been skating, per Don Granato. He expects to have updates on Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway and Zemgus Girgensons tomorrow. #Sabres
— Bill Hoppe (@BillHoppeNHL) December 4, 2023
This shows us that Tage made some serious progress over the past month, giving us hope he would take another step forward at some point this week. We got our answer on Tuesday morning when a recent article from the Buffalo News staff had the following to say regarding Tage’s injury status:
"“Tage Thompson will skate with the team Tuesday morning and could return as soon as Thursday night. Granato described Thompson’s status as a “very tight day to day.””"
Source: Sabres’ Tage Thompson could return to ice this week
However, on Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Kristen Shilton gave Sabres fans the update we were all looking for, confirming that Tage would make his big return tonight vs. the Detroit Red Wings. For a Sabres team that lost Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway, and Zemgus Girgensons since Tage went down with a wrist injury, this is the best news the fan base could get.
Tage Thompson’s on-ice presence would immediately help the Blue and Gold start scoring again and perhaps even get the penalty kill back on track if head coach Don Granato decides to keep him there. We will find out how the Blue and Gold utilize Tage in just a few short hours from now.
Tage Thompson is returning, but the Buffalo Sabres still aren’t fully healthy
Further, the article linked above also revealed Jack Quinn is still on track for a January return while we can expect Alex Tuch, Zemgus Girgensons, and Jordan Greenway to miss at least this week. Therefore, even with Tage coming back, that “next man up” mentality must be in full force if the Sabres don’t want to drop too far under 0.500.
Tage’s return so early after the injury initially looked severe should serve as a major boost in morale for a team that has routinely struggled with staying healthy throughout the first quarter of 2023-24. But if Quinn stays on track to return and if Tuch, Girgensons, and Greenway can also get back to in-game action come Week 10 or shortly thereafter, this season isn’t lost just yet.