Tage Thompson- What the h*** happened?!?!

[mjd1001]

Is the Powerplay bad because of Tage? or is Tage bad because of the Power play?

 

Is the Power play bad because Tage only has 4 PP goals this year, while last year he had 20?  Is the reason the PP is awful not because its run bad...but simply he simply isn't producing on it?

OR....

Is Tage a lot worse this year because he isn't getting those PP goals, and its not his fault so much as it is the fault of the way the Power Play is run?

[JoeSchmoe]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Is the Powerplay bad because of Tage? or is Tage bad because of the Power play?

 

Is the Power play bad because Tage only has 4 PP goals this year, while last year he had 20?  Is the reason the PP is awful not because its run bad...but simply he simply isn't producing on it?

OR....

Is Tage a lot worse this year because he isn't getting those PP goals, and its not his fault so much as it is the fault of the way the Power Play is run?

Watch the video I posted. Ask yourself how many times you've seen that Tage this year. 

It's Tage.

[thewookie1]

4 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Is the Powerplay bad because of Tage? or is Tage bad because of the Power play?

 

Is the Power play bad because Tage only has 4 PP goals this year, while last year he had 20?  Is the reason the PP is awful not because its run bad...but simply he simply isn't producing on it?

OR....

Is Tage a lot worse this year because he isn't getting those PP goals, and its not his fault so much as it is the fault of the way the Power Play is run?

Tage is bad due to a wrist injury which drops his shot speed by about 10mph on average and makes it difficult for him to put torque on his stick handling far from his body. 

The PP is bad because the system relies on Thompson almost entirely and Dahlin literally being the only guy trying to move around most nights. 

[Pimlach]

12 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

HE WAS SO GOOD!

What I see different with Thompson this year is speed.   Last season he played faster and was much stronger on his stick too.  He was different, more decisive, determined, and driven.  Injuries to him and line mates are only a part of it.  He needs to reduce the dangling and lateral moves and drive faster and harder to the net more often.  He needs to play like he is bigger and stronger than the competition, because he is.  

I am going to say this AGAIN, repeating what I said right out of the gate.   They wasted the camp and preseason.  They looked at all their coveted prospects for too long and did not drill the vets and NHL players enough.  Contrast this to Florida and the things that Maurice recently said.   The Panther players all worked harder in camp than the coaches were going to work them.  They came in with a mission.   Our guys  coasted while Adams and Granato looked at every dam draft pick and prospect ad nauseum.  Then they ran a 3 man goalie tryout that extended into the first 2 months of the season.  Add the injuries and the slow starts and we were toast right out of the gate.  

Worse, they put in a "defensive aspect" to the "system" and that confused them and that killed what they were good at.  They should have been practicing the system changes instead of looking at 19/20 year old kids.  

The team was completely unprepared to make a playoff run.  The FO and the coaches and the players all talked about playoffs but did NOTHING to enable it to happen.   Adams in particular sat on a young and flawed roster with such  arrogance, as if his prospects are all difference makers.  We saw glimpses of  Savoie, Kulich and Rosen in the NHL - none of them are ready and I don't expect them to be ready next year either.   Adams needs to wake up and improve the NHL roster and make these kids beat out a real NHL player to get to Buffalo.  

Back to Thompson - he plays parts of games at a decent speed, if he does not score right away he reverts to floating.  Playing with KO and Skinner is not helping him.  Given the line he is on, I would like to see him play faster and harder and actually hog the dam puck more.  Drive to the net, not away from it.  Look at the video Tage, drive to the net and get to the slot, not away from it.  

 

Grrr. 

Edited February 17 by Pimlach

[PASabreFan]

31 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

What I see different with Thompson this year is speed.   Last season he played faster and was much stronger on his stick too.  He was different, more decisive, determined, and driven.  Injuries to him and line mates are only a part of it.  He needs to reduce the dangling and lateral moves and drive faster and harder to the net more often.  He needs to play like he is bigger and stronger than the competition, because he is.  

I am going to say this AGAIN, repeating what I said right out of the gate.   They wasted the camp and preseason.  They looked at all their coveted prospects for too long and did not drill the vets and NHL players enough.  Contrast this to Florida and the things that Maurice recently said.   The Panther players all worked harder in camp than the coaches were going to work them.  They came in with a mission.   Our guys  coasted while Adams and Granato looked at every dam draft pick and prospect ad nauseum.  Then they ran a 3 man goalie tryout that extended into the first 2 months of the season.  Add the injuries and the slow starts and we were toast right out of the gate.  

Worse, they put in a "defensive aspect" to the "system" and that confused them and that killed what they were good at.  They should have been practicing the system changes instead of looking at 19/20 year old kids.  

The team was completely unprepared to make a playoff run.  The FO and the coaches and the players all talked about playoffs but did NOTHING to enable it to happen.   Adams in particular sat on a young and flawed roster with such  arrogance, as if his prospects are all difference makers.  We saw glimpses of  Savoie, Kulich and Rosen in the NHL - none of them are ready and I don't expect them to be ready next year either.   Adams needs to wake up and improve the NHL roster and make these kids beat out a real NHL player to get to Buffalo.  

Back to Thompson - he plays parts of games at a decent speed, if he does not score right away he reverts to floating.  Playing with KO and Skinner is not helping him.  Given the line he is on, I would like to see him play faster and harder and actually hog the dam puck more.  Drive to the net, not away from it.  Look at the video Tage, drive to the net and get to the slot, not away from it.  

 

Grrr. 

Punch takes off his beaver hat and fans his bald head. Dodo sighs. She knows his heart can't take much more. Still, she chops ham.

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

Punch takes off his beaver hat and fans his bald head. Dodo sighs. She knows his heart can't take much more. Still, she chops ham.

No beaver hat, but I like hats.  Partially bald on top/front - I call it an enlarged forehead.  My heart is strong thankfully.  Wife thinks the Sabres are a waste of my time and therefore keeps a running list of jobs for me to do.    

[PASabreFan]

1 minute ago, Pimlach said:

No beaver hat, but I like hats.  Partially bald on top/front - I call it an enlarged forehead.  My heart is strong thankfully.  Wife thinks the Sabres are a waste of my time and therefore keeps a running list of jobs for me to do.    

Wait. You're a cue ball. Is this Punch or not?

[Pimlach]

16 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Wait. You're a cue ball. Is this Punch or not?

When I was young I had great flow.  My hair was grown out like Robert Plant's when I was 16-21.   I went short hair at 22 when I graduated from college,  and then decided to keep it short for my job and for ease of maintenance.  By early 30's the receding started.  

The cue ball is slowly getting there but I am stubbornly holding onto the sides and back  - no comb over allowed.   

Rest assured, Larry David would admit me into the bald community.  

[triumph_communes]

Bad coaching. A little bit of injury too

[Mr Peabody]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

What I see different with Thompson this year is speed.   Last season he played faster and was much stronger on his stick too.  He was different, more decisive, determined, and driven.  Injuries to him and line mates are only a part of it.  He needs to reduce the dangling and lateral moves and drive faster and harder to the net more often.  He needs to play like he is bigger and stronger than the competition, because he is.  

I am going to say this AGAIN, repeating what I said right out of the gate.   They wasted the camp and preseason.  They looked at all their coveted prospects for too long and did not drill the vets and NHL players enough.  Contrast this to Florida and the things that Maurice recently said.   The Panther players all worked harder in camp than the coaches were going to work them.  They came in with a mission.   Our guys  coasted while Adams and Granato looked at every dam draft pick and prospect ad nauseum.  Then they ran a 3 man goalie tryout that extended into the first 2 months of the season.  Add the injuries and the slow starts and we were toast right out of the gate.  

Worse, they put in a "defensive aspect" to the "system" and that confused them and that killed what they were good at.  They should have been practicing the system changes instead of looking at 19/20 year old kids.  

The team was completely unprepared to make a playoff run.  The FO and the coaches and the players all talked about playoffs but did NOTHING to enable it to happen.   Adams in particular sat on a young and flawed roster with such  arrogance, as if his prospects are all difference makers.  We saw glimpses of  Savoie, Kulich and Rosen in the NHL - none of them are ready and I don't expect them to be ready next year either.   Adams needs to wake up and improve the NHL roster and make these kids beat out a real NHL player to get to Buffalo.  

Back to Thompson - he plays parts of games at a decent speed, if he does not score right away he reverts to floating.  Playing with KO and Skinner is not helping him.  Given the line he is on, I would like to see him play faster and harder and actually hog the dam puck more.  Drive to the net, not away from it.  Look at the video Tage, drive to the net and get to the slot, not away from it.  

 

Grrr. 

Had a 2.5 hour drive from Syr to Buf and was listening to NHL on XM discussing the Columbus GM change.  My wife asked me what happened to the Sabres and wish I had your post then.  Completely nailed it.

[Demoted]

Tage is matured enough with the Sabres farm team he is ready to go to another NHL team. 

[Buffalonill]

17 minutes ago, Demoted said:

Tage is matured enough with the Sabres farm team he is ready to go to another NHL team. 

I hope they're not that stupid 

[North Buffalo]

6 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:

All I kept hearing is that we have the best pipeline of future NHL talent in the entire league... Savoie couldn't help us? Not 1 call up for Kulich that I can recall? Why call up Bryson (the guy we've literally let any team in the NHL have on waivers) who we know what he brings to our team instead of a guy like Nikita Novikov? 

Bryson is a really good skater been getting better positionally and tougher in the corner... noticeably stronger.... not making as many wtf passes... D take longer to develop.   Not sure where Novikov is at this stage but id give him a taste... just wouldn't give up on Bryson

[JoeSchmoe]

6 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I am going to say this AGAIN, repeating what I said right out of the gate.   They wasted the camp and preseason.  They looked at all their coveted prospects for too long and did not drill the vets and NHL players enough. 

This might be the case with the team as a whole, but this ain't it with Thompson. He cannot do the things he did all year last season, as evidenced in the video. The plausible explanations I'll listen to for his utter decline are:

1. A nagging injury going back to last season. He hasn't done anything out of the gates so no injury sustained this year is the cause of him falling off a cliff.

2. Zero offseason training and which has continued into this season.

3. Mental health / fatigue / checked out. I get that being a new dad can be lots of work, but as all of us dads know, we still have to show up to work and perform. In Tage's case, he's in some part responsible for the many empty seats in the arena. If I were his employer, I'd be asking questions.

4. Change in his supplement game. 😉 Sorry fan boys, but with the night and day difference between this year and last, I'm personally not ruling it out as a possibility. If we never see last year's Tage again, this suspicion will only grow stronger. 

Again, I most likely think it's number 1 and maybe a touch of number 3. I'd really like to see him shut down and get whatever care he needs to come out of the gates next year looking like the Tage of last year. If he returns to form, I think the drought is over in 24-25.

Edited February 17 by JoeSchmoe

[Chair]

17 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

This might be the case with the team as a whole, but this ain't it with Thompson. He cannot do the things he did all year last season, as evidenced in the video. The plausible explanations I'll listen to for his utter decline are:

1. A nagging injury going back to last season. He hasn't done anything out of the gates so no injury sustained this year is the cause of him falling off a cliff.

2. Zero offseason training and which has continued into this season.

3. Mental health / fatigue / checked out. I get that being a new dad can be lots of work, but as all of us dads know, we still have to show up to work and perform. In Tage's case, he's in some part responsible for the many empty seats in the arena. If I were his employer, I'd be asking questions.

4. Change in his supplement game. 😉 Sorry fan boys, but with the night and day difference between this year and last, I'm personally not ruling it out as a possibility. If we never see last year's Tage again, this suspicion will only grow stronger. 

Again, I most likely think it's number 1 and maybe a touch of number 3. I'd really like to see him shut down and get whatever care he needs to come out of the gates next year looking like the Tage of last year. If he returns to form, I think the drought is over in 24-25.

He was on roids last year no doubt 

Roids

[Thorny]

Teams will be game planning in a way for Tage this season they didn’t come close to last season, that’s also a factor 

[JoeSchmoe]

2 hours ago, Thorny said:

Teams will be game planning in a way for Tage this season they didn’t come close to last season, that’s also a factor 

Watch the video. Other than the PP half wall stuff, you can't plan for the types of things Tage was doing last year last year. 

[Thorny]

2 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Watch the video. Other than the PP half wall stuff, you can't plan for the types of things Tage was doing last year last year. 

Josh Gorges once shut down Connor Mcdavid

 Yes, Tage Thompson can be gameplaned against 

[Buffalo Super Fan]

A lot things are going on with Tage Thompson. One he had a career year and now has a big money long term contract so that sometimes effects the way a player deals with the pressure of that contract. Two he has been injured and three he isn’t skating as fast as last season. I personally would trade either Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch to shake this Sabres team’s comfort zone. The Sabres are too comfortable that is the problem why the inconsistent play. It’s got to be a big player that no one saw being trade. Everyone on this Sabres roster should be available including Rasmus Dahlin if you get the right price. Not for draft picks Pierre Turgeon for Pat LaFontaine or Phil Housley for Dale Hawerchuk type trades. So you aren’t taking a step back you are retooling the Sabres roster to win now. You have to give up something good to get something good back in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[GoPuckYourself]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

A lot things are going on with Tage Thompson. One he had a career year and now has a big money long term contract so that sometimes effects the way a player deals with the pressure of that contract. Two he has been injured and three he isn’t skating as fast as last season. I personally would trade either Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch to shake this Sabres team’s comfort zone. The Sabres are too comfortable that is the problem why the inconsistent play. It’s got to be a big player that no one saw being trade. Everyone on this Sabres roster should be available including Rasmus Dahlin if you get the right price. Not for draft picks Pierre Turgeon for Pat LaFontaine or Phil Housley for Dale Hawerchuk type trades. So you aren’t taking a step back you are retooling the Sabres roster to win now. You have to give up something good to get something good back in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Our GM cannot even part with a prospect or 1st round pick, you think he could part with Tuch or Thompson? 

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

A lot things are going on with Tage Thompson. One he had a career year and now has a big money long term contract so that sometimes effects the way a player deals with the pressure of that contract. Two he has been injured and three he isn’t skating as fast as last season. I personally would trade either Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch to shake this Sabres team’s comfort zone. The Sabres are too comfortable that is the problem why the inconsistent play. It’s got to be a big player that no one saw being trade. Everyone on this Sabres roster should be available including Rasmus Dahlin if you get the right price. Not for draft picks Pierre Turgeon for Pat LaFontaine or Phil Housley for Dale Hawerchuk type trades. So you aren’t taking a step back you are retooling the Sabres roster to win now. You have to give up something good to get something good back in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Too much ice time with Skinner. He's learning the fine art of not working up a sweat and floating between offensive plays.

[Second Line Center]

On 2/17/2024 at 8:46 PM, Thorny said:

Josh Gorges once shut down Connor Mcdavid

 Yes, Tage Thompson can be gameplaned against 

I’ve been thinking this a lot to.  
 

He kind of came out of nowhere.  Then I noticed the last 20 games of last season how much attention he was getting.  
 

And I can’t think of any games where he dominated or took over a game vs elite teams.  
 

Vs elite teams in 2023-24 where he had more then ONE point:

 

Dec 21 vs Toronto.  3 points

Nov 1 @ Phi 3 points.  
 

 

That’s the list.  That’s 6 points in 2 games.  Leaving him with 23 in the other 41 games.  
 

That is not a number 1 center.  

Edited February 19 by Second Line Center

[Billznut]

Thompson hasn’t been the same player since the midway point of last year. Just look at the stats. It’s night and day. He got injured last year and also teams figured out a better way to neutralize him. He has not been overly effective for well over a calendar year now. I highly doubt we will ever see the Tage from October 2022- January 2023 again. Maybe for small streaks here and there, but his league domination is gone. 

[sabrefanday1]

Clearly his wrist must be hurt...his shot is nowhere near as fast or effective. Furthermore, other teams are shutting him down. Teams like the Leafs who do not play any sort of systemand just skate around and hope to outscore the other team  leave Tage alone and he does fine. 

[#freejame]

I think he’s probably just a one-dimensional player. It took him years to figure out how to play his game and succeed in the NHL. It worked for a few years. Now teams have caught on and he can’t adjust. He’s not a player with a bag of tricks. He holds the same card up his sleeve every game and teams know it.