Tage Thompson agreed to a seven-year, $50 million contract extension with the Buffalo Sabers on Tuesday. The contract, which starts next season, has an average annual value of $7.14 million.
The 24-year-old forward has one season remaining on a three-year, $4.2 million contract ($1.4 million AAV) he signed with Buffalo on Oct. 5, 2020. He set NHL career highs in goals (38), assists (30) and points (68) in 78 games last season.
“Tage Thompson embodies the pride we expect from every player who wears the Buffalo Sabers sweater,” Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams said. “His success last season is a testament to his unrelenting dedication to his craft and commitment to improving the team both on and off the ice, which we believe will help us reach even greater heights moving forward.”
Thompson had said after last season ended that he was hoping to stay with the Sabers in the long term.
“This is a place I want to be at for a very long time,” he said May 1. “I want to be a guy that helps this team win and make the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup, and obviously those are all just words and you’ve got to put that into action.
“I’m excited to be a guy that’s a Buffalo Saber and I think we’ve got a lot of guys in the room that feel the same way about our team as I do.”
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round (No. 26) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Thompson has 103 points (56 goals, 47 assists) in 223 regular-season games with the Blues and Sabres.
Thompson was acquired by Buffalo in the trade for forward Ryan O’Reilly on July 1, 2018.
.