USA’s Tage Thompson leaves Olympic semifinal for precautionary reasons
Team USA forward Tage Thompson left Friday’s semifinal game against Team Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics after the second period for precautionary reasons, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Thompson, 28, scored a goal and an assist in the first period against Slovakia but did not return to Team USA’s bench after the second intermission and was spotted walking through the corridors at the Milano Santagiulia Arena without his skates on.
Team USA led the Slovaks by a 5-0 score after 40 minutes of play in the semifinal. With their spot in the gold medal game against Team Canada all but secured, the American decision-makers seemingly elected to play it safe with one of their top offensive forwards.
Won't return...precautionary reasons
Tage Thompson not on the USA bench to start the third EDIT: I dont think it was a shot block...he was just walking through the corridors with no skates. We will see
Through 57 games with the Buffalo Sabres in the 2025-26 NHL regular season, Thompson has collected 30 goals and 59 points. The versatile 6’6″ forward has played an integral role in Buffalo chasing down its first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in 15 seasons.
With his departure from Friday’s game labelled as “precautionary,” it stands to reason that Thompson could be a factor once again for Team USA when they play for a medal this weekend. The gold medal game in the men’s ice hockey tournament is scheduled for Sunday at 8:10 AM ET.
A first-round pick (No. 26 overall) of the St. Louis Blues in the 2016 NHL Draft, Thompson skated in his first 41 games with the club in the 2017-18 regular season. The following summer, the Blues traded Thompson to the Sabres as part of a package for Ryan O’Reilly, who subsequently won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019.
After easing his way into the Sabres’ lineup over his first three years in their organization, Thompson emerged as a star with 38 goals and 68 points in the 2021-22 season. The Scottsdale, AZ product outdid himself the following year with 47 goals and 94 points in 78 games; he’s remained a focal point of the Sabres’ attack ever since.
Through 505 career games over parts of nine NHL seasons with the Blues and Sabres, Thompson has collected 206 goals and 384 points. He has three goals and four points in five games with Team USA at Milano-Cortina 2026.