Tage Thompson is one of the most extraordinary stories of the NHL's past decade. He scored just 35 points in the first 145 games of his career and his underlying numbers were downright terrible, leaving many to question why the Buffalo Sabres even protected him in the 2021 expansion draft.
Then Thompson suddenly transformed into one of the league's most dangerous offensive players. He's posted 371 points in 384 appearances over the past five seasons, highlighted by a 47-goal, 94-point campaign for the Sabres in 2022-23.
At least one NHL scout thinks there's more for the 6-foot-6 forward to give, though.
"Tage could absolutely dominate the league night in and night out if he wanted to," the unnamed scout told The Athletic. "Some nights he's curl and drag — more nights than he's a straight-line player."
The comments came Wednesday as part of the outlet's annual "Player Tiers" ranking, which saw Thompson land in Tier 3, denoting an All-Star caliber player.
Although there were a few stretches in 2025-26, especially during the latter stages of the regular season, where the 28-year-old Arizona native's on-ice movement was a bit sluggish. It wasn't clear whether that was due to a busy schedule, including his play for Team USA at the Winter Olympics, a lingering injury or a combination of both.
That said, compete level typically hasn't been a point of serious contention with Thompson since his emergence as a first-line player for Buffalo.
He'll once again play a critical role for the Sabres in 2026-27 as the franchise attempts to establish itself as a perennial playoff team after finally ending a 14-year playoff drought.
What's the best position for Sabres superstar Tage Thompson?
The biggest question surrounding Thompson as Buffalo prepares to arrive for training camp is whether he'll operate as a center or on the wing to open the new campaign.
While he's mostly played in the middle over the past few years, that's been mostly because nobody has stepped up to fill the No. 1 center void. Josh Norris has continued to deal with injury woes and Jiri Kulich missed most of last season with a blood clot.
The Sabres will have renewed hope one of those players, or perhaps prized prospect Konsta Helenius, can seize the critical spot on the depth chart, which would allow Thompson to become a full-time winger.
"Moving to wing makes sense, big-picture, because of how he wants to play," an NHL executive told The Athletic.
Getting Thompson out of the middle would give him far more offensive freedom, and it'd also help limit the impact of his defensive and faceoff weaknesses.
Buffalo's lineup has just fit together better with him at center in recent years, however, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen still hasn't been able to land a bona fide first-line pivot, though he did make a run at the St. Louis Blues' Robert Thomas ahead of last season's trade deadline.
Ultimately, finding that top-line center will probably be a necessity before the Sabres become a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. It's easier said than done, of course. There's a finite supply around the NHL and teams don't give them up easily.
Buffalo will hope one of its internal options, most likely Kulich or Helenius, can elevate their games to that level within the new few years, though that's not a guarantee.
So, it's quite possible Thompson finds himself as a center once again in 2026-27.
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