Tage Thompson’s 4 Nations call, Jordan Greenway’s return and other Sabres notes
Thompson is on standby as an emergency injury replacement for Team USA in the 4 Nations championship game against Canada.
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Tage Thompson didn’t sulk when his name was left off the United States’ initial roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. His name was among the last few debated by general manager Bill Guerin and the rest of the U.S. staff. In his conversation with Guerin, Thompson knew he was close to cracking the roster.
“Not being selected to 4 Nations gives you a little bit of that hunger, a little bit of a chip on your shoulder to try and prove something going forward,” Thompson said. “But I think those things will take care of themselves as long as you’re doing the right things to help your team here, which is the main focus. I feel like if I’m doing those things — playing a full 200-foot game, trying to help our team win on a nightly basis — I think those things go a long way and the rest kind of falls into place.”
Those initial rosters came out in early December when Thompson had begun a stretch in which he would score 15 goals and tally 15 assists in 26 games. He now has 26 goals and 46 points in 48 games this season. Thompson has been playing right wing for the Buffalo Sabres in recent weeks. The move was initially made because he was working through an injury, but coach Lindy Ruff liked what he was getting out of Thompson, so he kept him in that spot with Jiri Kulich centering Buffalo’s top line. The Sabres have 51 percent of the expected goals when he’s on the ice at five-on-five this season.
Thompson watched the 4 Nations tournament closely during the break, wishing he was there. On Wednesday, he got the call to join Team USA in Boston ahead of the championship game against Canada. Thompson is an emergency injury replacement, so he won’t be able to take the ice unless Team USA has fewer than 12 healthy forwards. That seems unlikely after Matthew Tkachuk said he was “ready to go” for the championship game, and coach Mike Sullivan said he anticipates Brady Tkachuk being able to play, too. After Team USA’s morning skate on Thursday, Sullivan said everyone other than Charlie McAvoy is available to play.
That means Thompson won’t get to play unless there’s an unforeseen situation. But he gets to be around the team in Boston for one of the most anticipated hockey games in years, and that’s a valuable experience for Buffalo’s star forward. Back when the roster was announced, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that Team USA was looking for “battle-tested” players when rounding out the roster. Thompson has never played in the NHL playoffs and that likely hurt him.
When the Sabres returned to practice on Tuesday, Thompson said it wasn’t the skill and pace of the tournament that stood out the most, it was the passion each guy was playing with.
“You look at a game like the U.S.-Canada game, it’s just the desperation, all of the little things,” Thompson said. “The physicality, the one-on-one puck battles. The first thing that stands out to me when you’re watching those is every puck battle means something to each guy out there. It’s not just the guy in the battle. It’s the guy supporting, working to get open for the guy. There’s no shifts off and that’s playoff hockey. The best of the best going at it. That’s what makes the game so special is the passion they show out there, they display that. They’re willing to put their bodies on the line for their country and guys sitting in that room with them. It’s infectious. It’s fun to be a part of.”
Tage Thompson is on standby for Team USA in Thursday night’s 4 Nations championship game against Canada. (Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)
Now Thompson will get to be part of it, even if it’s just in a small way. The Sabres are desperate to get a taste of meaningful hockey. Their roster is littered with players who have never played in a playoff game. They don’t know what it feels like to be in those team meetings and in the locker room on the day of a game like the one the United States and Canada will play on Thursday. They don’t know what the crowd atmosphere and in-game intensity looks or feels like. That intensity hasn’t surprised Thompson, but you can imagine it will be eye-opening and motivating for him to see it up close.
“I don’t think there’s any surprise that there’s going to be a battle and an all-out war out there,” Thompson said. “It makes for good hockey and obviously it’s the best of the best going at it, too. It’s a bunch of alphas and they’ve got a lot to prove.”
Samuelsson back from injury
Mattias Samuelsson hasn’t played since the Sabres’ win over the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 2. That was the day Stefan Noesen hit Thompson in the head, and the Sabres’ lack of response became a league-wide story and prompted a team meeting the next day. Samuelsson was among the players on the ice when the hit happened, but he was absent in the games that followed because he broke a bone in his foot blocking a shot in that game.Samuelsson’s poor injury luck is nothing new. He missed 12 games earlier this season with a knee injury. Last season, he missed 41 games and needed season-ending shoulder surgery. He missed 27 games in 2022-23. All of that has come since signing a seven-year, $33 million contract extension in the fall of 2022 after playing just 54 total NHL games.
That, along with the incident following the Thompson hit, has put the spotlight on Samuelsson, who was also named an alternate captain before the start of this season. Ruff, who made Samuelsson a healthy scratch a few times earlier this season, said he thought the 6-foot-4 defenseman was gaining some traction in becoming a big, physical defenseman prior to his injury. He wants to see him continue to make a physical tone part of his game for the rest of the season.
Greenway returning ahead of deadline
Jordan Greenway will return from an extended absence on Saturday when the Sabres host the New York Rangers. Greenway has been out since December after having surgery to repair a mid-body injury. The Sabres only have seven games before the NHL trade deadline, so Greenway won’t have much time to show the rest of the NHL he’s healthy. Greenway, who just turned 28, is in the final season of a contract that pays him $3 million, and his two-way game would appeal to playoff contenders if he’s healthy. But the Sabres also have expressed interest in bringing him back on another contract. The next few weeks will be pivotal for Greenway on and off the ice.Luukkonen back early
The Sabres weren’t anticipating Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to rejoin the team until Thursday after participating in the 4 Nations tournament. But Luukkonen, who didn’t dress in any of Finland’s games, was back on the ice a day early. The Sabres’ starting goalie knew going into the tournament that Juuse Saros was going to get the first crack at starting, but Kevin Lankinen ended up getting the primary backup duties and got some playing time.Still, Luukkonen was on the ice practicing with Finland daily and felt being part of the team was a major learning experience.
“Just being around those guys and getting to know them and seeing what the level of game is when it’s best-on-best and how ready you have to be every game is something I’m going to learn and take away from the tournament,” Luukkonen said.