But while these are all dreams of Thompson’s — 50 goals, the Olympics — he has also come to see that some of this is in his control and some isn’t. He can move towards them by what he does in practice each day, by his incremental progress, by his preparation and by helping Buffalo win.
Because individual goals pale when it comes to what he and the Sabres are trying to accomplish.
As he put it, “I’d say as far as something being important, it would be making [playoffs] and winning the Cup. Two of my biggest goals right now are, obviously, making playoffs first, but winning a Cup is the most important.”
That is the thing, the rub, the ever-present idea that hangs over Thompson and his teammates in Buffalo.
It was the cloud that hung over them last season, when they missed the playoffs for the 14th straight season, Thompson’s seventh with the Sabres. It hung over them this season when they started with three straight losses.
“Obviously we’ve had a number of seasons where we haven’t been successful and when that happens, it’s easy to be negative and look at the past and kind of say, ‘Here we go again,’” Thompson said before their second game of the season, a 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Oct. 11. “So, I think it’s just one of those things that you’ve got to remind yourself it’s a long season and it doesn’t really matter what’s happened in the past; it’s a new opportunity to get better and grow. I think we just kind of learn to stay positive and kind of just take it one day at a time.”
But negativity is sometimes hard to avoid, something Thompson saw after Buffalo’s third loss, with his frustration spilling over, though again he highlighted how much it needs to leave its sins of the past in the past.
“Honestly, it’s the guys in the locker room against the world,” Dahlin said. “We have to prove that we can do it. If we’re doing the right thing in the room, that’s going to translate into the games and nothing from outside will matter.”
It’s about looking in the mirror, Thompson said, but it’s also about finding the fun.
It’s about looking at what the Sabres are building.
“I think obviously there’s some stress and some pressure when you’re in a situation like we are, but I think it’s an opportunity, you can look at it as an opportunity to do something special,” Thompson said. “And I think that’s what we’ve got to embrace is that journey and that grind and enjoy it and have fun with it.”
It’s all part of a maturation process that has progressed over the seasons, during which time Thompson’s game has progressed on the ice, finding a place beside Dahlin as an alternate captain, becoming more vocal and sure of himself. He’s figured out how much the light in the locker room matters, especially with what the Sabres have been through, now that he’s seen winning firsthand.
“They want to win the Cup,” Brent Thompson said. “They want to make the playoffs, they want to win the Cup. I know that for sure. I know that’s in his head every day. And I know he wants to be a big part of it, and I think the World Championships was something that kind of spearheaded him talking about that vocally.”
NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke contributed to this report