>**Q: Has Thompson been playing hurt for most of or all of this year? If not, do they have to address the No. 1 center position in light of the significant drop-off in his production this year? — Kevin W.**
>**A**: It’s tough to say how much pain Tage Thompson has been playing through this season. He came back early from a broken hand and had to wear a brace for a while. How long that impacted him isn’t clear. He also missed a game recently with an upper-body injury. Injuries would help explain the significant drop-off in production, but we may never get a straight answer on how much the various injuries have hindered him.
>Either way, the center position definitely doesn’t look as settled as it did this time last season. Casey Mittelstadt is gone, so there’s an opening for at least one center in the bottom six. Can Peyton Krebs be a No. 3 center? If that answer is no, the Sabres will need to add a veteran. Kevyn Adams already said the team was making an effort to do so at the NHL trade deadline. Banking on Matt Savoie or Jiri Kulich stepping into that role is risky. Adding a center to the top of the lineup is an option, too. That would help them push one of Dylan Cozens or Thompson down a line or even move Thompson out to wing as he gets older. Adams should be open to all options at that position, especially because Thompson and Cozens have reasonable enough contracts to fit another high-priced center into the mix.
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>**Q: Has Thompson been playing hurt for most of or all of this year? If not, do they have to address the No. 1 center position in light of the significant drop-off in his production this year? — Kevin W.**
>**A**: It’s tough to say how much pain Tage Thompson has been playing through this season. He came back early from a broken hand and had to wear a brace for a while. How long that impacted him isn’t clear. He also missed a game recently with an upper-body injury. Injuries would help explain the significant drop-off in production, but we may never get a straight answer on how much the various injuries have hindered him.
>Either way, the center position definitely doesn’t look as settled as it did this time last season. Casey Mittelstadt is gone, so there’s an opening for at least one center in the bottom six. Can Peyton Krebs be a No. 3 center? If that answer is no, the Sabres will need to add a veteran. Kevyn Adams already said the team was making an effort to do so at the NHL trade deadline. Banking on Matt Savoie or Jiri Kulich stepping into that role is risky. Adding a center to the top of the lineup is an option, too. That would help them push one of Dylan Cozens or Thompson down a line or even move Thompson out to wing as he gets older. Adams should be open to all options at that position, especially because Thompson and Cozens have reasonable enough contracts to fit another high-priced center into the mix.