Targeting Tage: Why the Sabres Superstar could be Devils Big Fish

It’s Friday, October 17, and if you’re a New Jersey Devils fan, you’re probably still riding high after last night’s statement win over Florida in the home opener. On the flip side, if you’re a Buffalo Sabres fan… well, I’m not sure if there’s much I can say to ease the pain — though at least your football team still employs Josh Allen.

READ MORE: Why the Devils are Showing Signs of Maturity, Not Quite There Yet

The 2025–26 regular season is barely a week old, but according to Elliotte Friedman on the October 13 episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, things might already be reaching a boiling point in Western New York.

“We basically know that two of their franchise players, (Rasmus) Dahlin and (Tage) Thompson, have indicated that it has to get better this year. The Sabres don’t have a long runway for this,” Friedman said.

With Buffalo off to a 1-3-0 start, let’s get right to it: if the Sabres can’t right the ship, Tage Thompson could be the piece that pushes the Devils over the top. Should he become available, Tom Fitzgerald should go all-in to bring him to New Jersey. To be clear, if Buffalo has any control over the situation, trading their best forward — especially one locked in at a team-friendly $7.14 million cap hit through 2030 — would make little sense. But with the Sabres mired in a playoff drought stretching back to 2011 and showing little sign of progress, a nightmare scenario could unfold in Western New York: Thompson asking out as soon as this season.

I don’t think Fitzgerald or the Devils’ front office would need much—if any—convincing that Tage Thompson would be a dream fit in New Jersey. He brings a rare combination of size, strength, and skill that few centers possess (and let’s be honest, center depth is something the Devils could use). Thompson is coming off a season where he scored 44 goals in 76 games, and for a Devils team that already looks strong just four games into the year but might still be missing that one final piece, Tage could be exactly that. And that’s before even mentioning how team-friendly his contract is.

If Thompson were to demand a trade, I don’t think there’s a player within the Devils organization—outside of those with the last names Hughes, Hischier, Bratt, and Meier—who should be considered untouchable in a potential deal. He’s that kind of player: the one you move mountains to acquire.

Yes, the Devils are already navigating a tricky cap situation (even with Jonathan Kovacevic’s $4 million salary on LTIR), but this would be the rare case where clearing whatever cap space necessary would be worth it. If it means parting with draft picks to help another team absorb a contract like Ondrej Palat’s, so be it—you do what it takes to land a franchise-altering talent like Tage Thompson.

If you’re a Devils fan still reading this, your first reaction is probably, “Well, duh — of course it’s a good idea to trade for Tage Thompson if he ever became available. Thanks, Captain Obvious.” But that’s not really the point here. When you combine New Jersey’s need for a true difference-maker to push them into legitimate Stanley Cup contention with what’s starting to look like a potential roster implosion in Buffalo, suddenly, this isn’t just a fun hypothetical—it’s a scenario that might actually be realistic. And that alone is reason enough to get excited.