‘Thompson has been a bright spot in a disappointing season for the Sabres. He has 25 goals and 44 points in 45 games. Only 11 NHL players have more goals than Thompson’s 101 since the start of the 2022-23 season. During that span, he has more than Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin and Alex Ovechkin, among others. Thompson is an elite goal scorer, an invaluable asset for any NHL team, and he began to develop into one in 2021-22 when he was moved from wing to center by former coach Don Granato.’