I think we're pretty much in agreement on all of this.
But I'd just point out that the high-risk/high-reward plays don't necessarily need to be made with the "high-reward" being a goal scored by the guy he's passing to. If that were the objective, then yeah, there's really no point in trying it when you're passing to Thompson. Instead, some of the high-risk/high-reward plays are made with the ultimate objective simply being relieving pressure and getting a line change, where more traditional/safe decision is less likely to succeed. I think he makes those often enough that I trust his decision making when he tries it.
Just as a hypothetical to explain what I mean, say Ghost is stuck in the D zone with the 4th line. He has the puck and the typical choices are to either a) make a pass to a stationary covered forward, or b) give up possession by dumping it into the neutral zone... either way he's likely giving the puck right back to the opponent and they're still stuck in the D zone, unable to change. However, since he's Ghost, there's option C... keep the puck and try to use his skating to exit the zone himself. For most players, I'd just say dump it to the neutral zone, but if Ghost thinks he can skate it out, I'd typically trust that instinct because the majority of the time he's right and he'll be able to exit the zone with possession and make sure his teammates are able to get off the ice for a change.
(I know that isn't a great example, but I'm just trying to explain what I mean about the high-risk/high-reward plays not necessarily being with the intention of scoring a goal or being dependent on who he's on the ice with. How sometimes it might still the right move, even while with plugs. I don't mean to keep harping on this, I just don't think I'm explaining it properly and I'm trying to find the right way to get my point across.
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