We cannot sit here and talk about the resurgence of the Buffalo Sabres without talking about a trade that more or less completely altered the course of this franchise and that was on July 1st, 2018 the Buffalo Sabres traded their second leading scorer at the time Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in return for Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, a 2019 first-rounder, 2021 first second-rounder, and a former first-round draft pick who was fresh off his rookie season in the league where he posted three goals, nine points in 41 games. Obviously, Tage Thompson who just scored two of the biggest goals in Buffalo Sabres in the last 15 years of the Buffalo Sabres really. Which is I was

thinking about that on my way in today. I was like, I mean, yeah, they haven't had any more meaningful goals than those two that he just scored in so long. Um, but people forget he actually like didn't stick with the Sabres right away, either. He played uh his first two years back and forth between the NHL and AHL. Um, and the first full season he played, which he didn't play all of it, but 14 points in 38 games in 2021. Safe to say that has changed from now on. I dug it up. Since 2021-2022, he's got the eighth most goals in the league. These are the players ahead of him when he's when you put him into company like this, it's incredible to see the rise

he's had. Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, Pastrnak, McDavid, MacKinnon, Kaprizov, Ovechkin. Woo. Pretty good. Thompson's the next name on that list and genuinely I don't think you find a piece who's in the company like that as as a fifth piece in a trade for one player, let alone that one player being Ryan O'Reilly. So, we need to sit down and kind of break that down and how he's led the Sabres to where they're at and how big of a win that trade was now because at the time I think people thought that the Blues kind of fleeced the Sabres with the package with Berglund who didn't stick around. So, let's dive into that. We'll start with you, John. Let's break down this trade.

What do you think that the Sabres saw in Thompson? What do you think that they thought of the whole package? Was he the focal point because he was a first-round pick. We do have to give him credit for that. Um, but yeah, where does your mind go when we look back at this trade now? I mean, if you look back on Jason Botterill's comments, the GM of the Sabres at the time, they were high on Tage Thompson, but like it's hard to tell in that moment if it's just hype up the guy Yeah, exactly. It's like you're not going to be like, "Uh, we think he might be something." You're going to be like, "We see a lot of potential." And all that kind of stuff. So, the rest of that package turned into a bunch of nothing.

Yeah. Um, so if Tage Thompson hadn't hit, I mean, that'd be one of the worst trades in the last, you know, decade or so, right? So, you know, worked out for both sides. Ryan O'Reilly goes and wins a cup with the Blues and obviously we're seeing what Tage is now doing for the Sabres, but the player that he was then is almost unrecognizable to who he is now where he's a really interesting, really unique player and also a really interesting, really unique player development story where you know, he grows up as actually a short player, like not even just average height, just short. And when he's at the National Team Development Program in the United States and he's on the you know, he's a healthy scratch essentially, he's

a fifth liner, very much flying under the radar there. Over one summer, he jumps up four or five inches and he all of a sudden he's like he's a tall guy. you know, slightly taller than his peers. And from there, he has to plot out how do I go from being this really skilled, undersized guy who focused on, you know, puck skills, who focused on one up beating defensemen one-on-one, who focused on perimeter play. How do I turn those parts of my game um into something more concrete with a bigger body. So, you see this with all these guys who are, you know, 6'6" or taller, like sort of these like super tall guys, it takes a long time to get coordinated. It takes a long time to go from being clumsy

skating-wise to smooth skating-wise. And also, you know, the hand-eye with your actual um stick. Tage has, you know, done a number on his stick over the years. He kept it pretty short um compared to how tall he is. He's changed the lie, he's changed the curve. And you can see it in the way that he operates out there. He keeps the puck really close to his skates and that allows him to protect the puck, but then also, as we saw in game one, pull off these really agile, you know, nifty sort of playmaking um stick-handling maneuvers um that can get him in you know, in tight spaces. He can make work some magic. So, And that's what separates him from like other big guys as well, right?

Exactly. Like he's Yeah, unicorn gets thrown around a lot, but he's like at least, you know, one of a few unicorns that are these like massive forwards that are basically like shorter, skilled players in a bigger player's body. In this instance, you know, that's he just grew up as that guy who felt like he needed to really work on his offensive game and sort of that offensive flair and creativity. And then he all of a sudden is sitting there going, "Oh, I've got to pack on some weight. Uh, I've got to figure out how to sort of drive wide and use my body to protect the puck." Once he did shoot up. So, I mean, it's really insane how he's gone from even when he's been in the NHL, he's

gone from, "Okay, like we'll see if he is a bottom-six mainstay." And, "Okay, he's probably going to have to focus more on his physicality." To, "Oh, look at this guy pop off with whatever it was, 38 goals in his first breakout season." And it's been nothing but, you know, smooth sailing from there in terms of his trajectory. So, just, you know, the amount of skill, the amount of offensive juice that he has compared to other guys his size is extremely rare. I think what's really interesting about his development, that breakout season, he moved from wing to center. You never see that. You never see that, especially for a guy that big. You might get pigeonholed into like, "Okay, you're a

winger. Like go win in the corners and be physical." like quote-unquote not good defensively at the time, it was like he's this all-offense guy and it's like, "Let's try him at center and see if this works." It's like, "What the hell is It almost felt like a Hail Mary at the time to figure him out. Yeah. Obviously, it worked amazingly. the reason why that happened was Don Granato was his coach at the National Team Development Program. So, he knew Tage really well. He saw him try to figure out this new body. And then by the time they meet at in Buffalo as, you know, better a better coach, a better player, he decides, "I need to get Tage in the middle of the ice because it allows him to sort of spread his wings.

He can If you're on a on the wing, you get stuck on the wall a lot and that's not very helpful if you're really big guy who you want on in open space and to be sort of galloping um you know, towards in the offensive zone through the neutral zone." So, you know, props to Don Granato for that. And then also that 2022-23 season with the Sabres, very little attention to detail defensively, like across the board with that team. But I think that helps a guy like Tage Thompson feel, you know, a little more confident in sort of his pecking order in the league and bring those totals up and realize that he can take over a game himself. And then, you know, obviously Granato leaves, Lindy

Ruff comes in, there's more attention to detail defensively. And now this season we've seen Thompson be one of the better forecheckers on the team, one of the better guys, you know, backchecking. He's really become like a culture center both off the ice cuz he's one of the leaders, but then on the ice, he's sort of playing to their identity even though he's their best forward. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's I'm glad you noted to his personal development from being like a small guy. He had the hands and stuff cuz you never really hear about that happening in hockey. And if it does, like it's it's very much overshadowed by

like all the times I think about these basketball players specifically where it's like they grew up small, they're the point guards and all of a sudden they have this giant Ousmane turned into center with handles. It's like an Anthony Davis. And to see that in hockey is like so cool in my opinion. Like really, we haven't had anything like that with the arc like kind of the trajectory that he's had where yeah, he's just like a huge guy with sick hands. Like that doesn't happen. and you think about his shot, right? It's such a booming shot right now. He had the technique as a smaller player and then he gets the strength as a an older player. Next thing you know, you know, he's got one of the biggest bombs

on the power play in the entire league. Yeah, it's it's incredible. So, sticking with the trade for a second, we'll throw this one to you, Josh. All things considered, who do you think right now at this moment won that trade, the Blues or the Sabres? It's the St. Louis Blues. No questions asked. I mean, Ryan O'Reilly in his first year with St. Louis won the Selke, won the Cup, and the Conn Smythe. And banners fly forever. So, I mean, I'm going with the Blues, but I mean, obviously win-win for both sides. And, you know, Thompson, maybe if he leads Buffalo to a cup, that answer changes, but right now for me it's still Ryan O'Reilly and the St. Louis Blues. It's such a fascinating trade to look back on

because of the cup factor, right? Like for three, four years it looked like it was an absolute steal for St. Louis and then it flips the other way and people are like, "Wow, wouldn't St. Louis love to have Tage still?" But overall, like both teams won. And this is might be like the most win-win trade in NHL history in terms of the Buffalo Sabres get the guy that eventually leads them back to the playoffs and we'll see how far this goes for the Sabres. And the Blues get their Stanley Cup. Like it's incredible to look back at. And in terms of the Blues as well, like when they made that trade, like they had some other prospects that were higher touted.

When you think about Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou at the time, even some guys like Vince Dunn and we were looking at some other stuff. Like Klim Kostin was a guy who was mentioned in the trade grade articles at the time. Like those are guys that they kept and to varying degrees have helped them still. And it has just played out in such a perfect way for both of these franchises. What a win-win for both players, too. I mean, O'Reilly wanted out of Buffalo, went to a competitive team, obviously won the cup. Tage, if he's still with St. Louis and maybe he doesn't develop into the player that he is, right? Cuz

they're competitive, so maybe he doesn't get a chance to play center and maybe we never see the Tage Thompson that we see now. Yeah. It's fascinating. Like his dad's an AHL coach and I wonder if that like factors into his development, too. And you know, you need that those opportunities and he got it in Buffalo. And also like just in talking to him over the years, that he's very much like really strong self-belief, real strong self-confidence, and I wonder if that also the mental part of it plays a factor when these guys are sort of not down and out. It's not like he was a nobody, yeah, but he was certainly like trending towards, you know, first-round bust at one point, and then somehow ends

up being a superstar. Um, you need that there needs to be something going on between the ears, and I wonder if there were some conversations with his dad over the year over the years where he's like, "Hey, stick with it, or try this, or try that." I think that probably pays off, and you know, yeah. I thought I think Josh is completely right. Like if he stayed with St. Louis, like does he end up in the minors for his entire career? Does he end up being a fourth liner like, I don't know, Torpchenko, speaking of Blues guys who are super tall and physical? Like does he turn into more of a grinding type? It's very possible.

I mean, and the sentiment I understand banners fly forever, yes, but I think winning a Stanley Cup is great, but is there an argument that what Thompson has been able to do for a team that was so bad for so long with the Buffalo Sabres? Is that more Is he a more valuable player to the Sabres than O'Reilly was to the Blues during that Cup run? That I mean, he won the Conn Smythe, so I think yeah. Maybe not a Cup run, obviously. But I think it all depends on like what the Sabres do here from now on. Now that they've made it back to the playoffs, that's not the same as like winning a Stanley Cup, right? Like the goal changes now. If the Sabres go on and win a Stanley Cup either this year or in the future, if

Tage Thompson does what like Ryan O'Reilly did for the St. Louis Blues, I think that's where it flips to like a win, but right now I think it's perfectly fair to call it like that win-win, and now we get to the next point to see where can the Sabres actually go out and like look back and win this trade. And part of the win-win factor, too, is that Tage Thompson's timeline aligns a lot better than Ras- with Rasmus Dahlin's timeline versus if it was O'Reilly and Dahlin, like you've got, you know, whatever, 10-year difference there. Right now you've got Thompson and Dahlin both in the prime of their career, so the window's way more open in this setting, even though at the time you're going, "Oh, there goes another important player

from the Sabres organization just walking out the door." Took a long time for the Sabres to get here, but if you look at it like in a vacuum right now, you'd rather have Thompson just based on the timelines. Yeah. All things considered, I mean, it's been incredible to see what the Sabres are doing, what Tage Thompson's doing. He's just put the city on his back as of right now, so very excited to see how they look moving forward. Let us know in the comments who you really think won this trade. Thanks for watching. If you like this video and want to see more content like it, hit the sub button and ring that notification bell. And for unique bite-size content, make sure to follow

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