Buffalo Sabres cornerstone Tage Thompson has scored 158 goals over the past four seasons, which ranks tied for 10th in the NHL over that span. It was a sudden but now sustained rise to superstardom for the 6-foot-6 forward after looking like a potential bust early in his career.
Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report believes the best may still be ahead for Thompson. On Monday, Gretz released a bold prediction for every NHL team ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, and for Buffalo it was Tage hitting the iconic 50-goal milestone.
"Thompson has been close to the 50-goal mark twice in his career, scoring 47 goals in 78 games back in 2021-22 and then scoring 44 in 76 games this past season," Gretz wrote. "Given his powerful shot, shot volume and the way the Sabres offense runs entirely through him it is not a stretch to think he could get the 50-goal mark at some point in his career. Why not this season?"
It's a target the 27-year-old Arizona native previously set for himself following his 47-goal campaign back in 2022-23.
"It leaves that hunger, that bittersweet taste in your mouth that you know you're close, but you still have a lot of work to do," Thompson told NHL.com's Dan Rosen in 2023.
The biggest question this season is whether there's enough talent around him to make it happen.
Buffalo traded JJ Peterka, a top-line stalwart alongside Tage in recent years, to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Although Doan has a bright future, he's not on the same offensive level as Peterka at this stage.
The Sabres figure to roll out a top line of Thompson with either Josh Norris or Jiri Kulich at center and Jason Zucker or Zach Benson at left wing. Head coach Lindy Ruff has preferred to use Tage at right wing despite his prior goal-scoring success at center.
None of those players are particularly strong playmakers, though. Zucker had the highest assist total of the group last season at a modest 33. So, aside from all-world defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who's going to feed Thompson the puck?
There's another problem, too: The Sabres power play.
The unit ranked 24th last year at 18.8 percent and that was actually a modest improvement from 2023-24, when it finished 28th (16.6 percent). Thompson scored 14 PP goals in 2022-23, but he's tallied just 16 over the past two seasons combined.
Getting the power play fixed would provide a major boost to Tage's quest for 50. It's far from guaranteed, however, given the roster's lack of pass-first playmaking weapons and the fact the Sabres didn't make any changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
Thompson is capable of essentially making a solo push toward 50, which was somewhat the case last season, but ultimately the roster around him could make it difficult.
Looking ahead, there's a decent chance the University of Connecticut product eventually hits that magical number in the coming years, especially if the Sabres' latest rebuilding effort is fruitful. He doesn't need a ton of help to make it happen, but he needs at least some support.
One thing's for sure: Buffalo's chances of ending its 14-year playoff drought will receive a substantial boost if Thompson does find the net 50-plus times in 2025-26.