The Buffalo Sabers are in the middle of a rebuild as they look to climb out of the basement of the Atlantic Division. The Sabers are relying on young talent as their players continue to develop when the young talent delivers, the Sabers must pay up to keep the talent around or risk losing them to another team.
The Sabers recently announced that the club has signed forward Tage Thompson to a massive contract extension.
It was first reported by NHL insider Kevin Weekes:
Twenty minutes after the Weeks report, the official Sabers Twitter confirmed the reports themselves.
Thompson is officially signed to a seven-year, $50 million contract with an AAV of around $7.14 million. The 24-year-old was originally drafted 26th overall in 2016 by the St. Louis Blues but was acquired by the Sabers in the Ryan O’Reilly trade in 2018.
Thompson was a bright spot on a bad Buffalo team last season as he broke out in his first full season in the NHL. The big body 6-foot, 7-inch center had a fantastic season in which he scored a career-high 38 goals and 30 assists for 68 points. He was a key member on the power-play as he finished with ten power-play goals and 16 power-play points. He also added two short handed goals and four game winning goals on the season.
While the extension may be premature as there is just one full season of sample size, this deal could end up being a steal if this lone season isn’t a fluke. Thompson will now have the pressure on him to perform up to his contract. If he can score 25 to 30 goals a season, it’s safe to say he is worth the money. Only time will tell how this contract ages, but for the sake of the Sabers, let’s hope it’s a steal.
