Tage Thompson has signed a new contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

The blessing in disguise from trading Ryan O'Reilly.

Vote yes.

This is a huge and risky bet. I know that the cap jump we are about to see will help things but still. I'd have waited.

The finishing measure (which already includes a decent dose of regression in it) is a new development for him but the defensive weakness is a staple of his game. pic.twitter.com/db0e8U9U9A

— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) August 30, 2022

Whole lot of risk here

High risk, high reward.

I voted no. Imo the risk is just too high.

They're still paying Skinner 9 million for 5 more years. It's a resounding no. Should be anyway.

They couldn't just agree to $50M even? Had to be a buck short?

Is that a win for Buffalo that they saved the dollar?

Overpay imp think he will have a down year

Tage Thompson is gonna be 7 foot tall when he stands on his $50M

I feel like this is going to be like the Draisaitl contract back in 2017. Everytime I watched the Sabres Tage stood out for me. It's not like he was playing with elite players either. He's a unicorn player. One of the best shots in the NHL.

Steep price to pay. But Buffalo can afford it at this time. May also be the Buffalo Sabre tax.

This was Adam's first big/long term contract... you think he would have learned from Skinner? Tage was amazing last year in a starring role, but he was an arbitration eligible RFA that has had only one good season. How do you not bridge the guy? You have Krebs, Cozens, Middlestadt, and you have a chance at another high draft pick... will Tage really be a 1C over all of them for 8 years? This is too much risk, especially for the guy's first major contract. You have to bridge this.

Probably a numbers thing. 7 years, 7.14million. Lotta 7s in there. You see it other times, too. Tage and Kevyn are hoping for some good luck, and they will need it

Just seems weird. Most other non pro-rated contracts are an even number.

Pretty sure it is 50 mil on the nose, just CF averaging it since 50/7 is an ugly number until they get the full contract details. Come back in a day or 2 and it'll say 50 even.

Like Hayes contract for example

Gigantic risk but if he continues his upwards trajectory this is a great deal

Mr Adams is playing the lottery on the 82.5 mil Sal Cap %% ??? .... If Mr Adams is right about Thompson, he just saved the company monies!!! It was signed under the 22-23 Sal Cap limit (82.5) ~~~ Remember Chiarelli and Draisaitl.

This contract will carry him through his prime years which is nice. There is certainly risk here but imo Tage earned his status and his goals last year. I don't expect him to put up those totals year in year out but I do think he is a true 50-60 point guy. If he gets that consistently and has some better years than that then this is a good contract. Sample size of him being a elite player is small for sure... this year will tell us if Tage is the real deal

Skinner's contract belonged to the previous GM ...

I don't think this is a good contract and wasn't smart optics on the part of the Sabres.

Thompson had a fantastic season last year but it preceded three years of very average to under-average performance; he also had another year at 1.4 and was an RFA next off-season. Buffalo had time and leverage to see if his most recent season would've been standard for him going forward or if he over-performed.

Time will tell if he's worth the 7 million they're giving him through his prime years but he'll have to be that 30-40 goal, 70 point player in order to meet those expectations.

Bold.

(Is it awful that my first reaction was, “I hope this incentivizes Tyce”?)

I would not have done this. He had a great season, but I'm not convinced he's that guy. Didn't drive play analytically, a defensive liability and his offensive jump lines up with a massive jump in shooting %. He's a huge candidate for regression imo.

I get the impulse to bet on him and lock him through his prime, and it could totally end up working out, but I'd have gone 2-3 years. Even if you end up paying him 8-9 at the end, who cares because that means he ended up just being sick.

It wouldn't surprise me to see him end up like a 40+ point guy on average tbh

What?

i literally said oh my god outloud..

Risky, but if it pans out, it'll be one of the best contracts. Reminds me a tad of Kevin Fiala's deal.

I think his upside is very high, so I would say yes.