‘“It’s been an emotional year, especially for me and ‘Ras’,” said Thompson during his end-of-season press conference last week. “‘Ras’, for sure, with things that he’s been dealing with, but it’s something we’ve talked about for a long time being here as long as we have. Guys have come and gone and weren’t able to do it, and one thing we talked a lot about is taking a lot of pride in being two big pieces, ending the drought and bring winning hockey back to Buffalo.”‘