The Buffalo Sabres really cannot catch a break this season, and apparently neither can Jack Quinn. On Monday it was announced that the second-year forward underwent surgery to correct a lower-body injury he sustained this past Saturday in San Jose. He’s expected to be out for a minimum of eight weeks.
Given that this comes just over a month after Quinn returned from missing nearly the entire first half, it would be a massive understatement to say the news is less than ideal. He’ll have to bide his time on the shelf once again while the Sabres, who have been gaining momentum as of late, will have to find a contingency plan.
More Woes for Quinn
Suffice it to say that Quinn’s sophomore season has not gone to plan at all. After a strong rookie season in which he scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games, he ruptured an Achilles tendon while training last June and spent the following six months recovering. It was a bigger loss for than it may have seemed, as Quinn had established himself as a top-six forward and found success alongside his many young contemporaries. The Sabres used various prospects, most notably Zach Benson, in the interim but it was evident nevertheless that an important piece was missing.
The Ottawa native made his long-awaited return in December and helped give his team a spark with five goals and 12 points in 17 games in addition to excelling on the penalty kill. It helped the Sabres find some traction and they’ve played to a 7-4-0 record since the calendar flipped to 2024. However, as has been the trend all season, it proved to be short-lived.
The 22-year-old was injured in the third period on Saturday against the Sharks in San Jose as fell awkwardly after being shoved from behind by Tomas Hertl and needed assistance to get back to the bench. The exact nature of the ailment is unclear but The Buffalo News stated that, though to the same leg, it’s not related to the Achilles injury and there’s no knee damage (from “Sources: Sabres winger Jack Quinn undergoes surgery on lower-body injury”, The Buffalo News, 1/29/2024).
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While that’s a smidgeon of good news, the prognosis is by no means great. Quinn will be out until the end of March at the earliest and that’s assuming that his recovery goes as optimally as possible. There’s a chance he could miss the remainder of the season and the Sabres will be left with a choice.
What Will Be Sabres’ Move?
The Sabres have a number of different options at their disposal and don’t have to make a decision immediately. The team is currently in its annual bye week that will segue into the All-Star Break and won’t be back in action until Feb. 6.
The simplest choice would be to bring back Tyson Jost after he was assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL before the new year. Though he wasn’t having the best season in Buffalo, he’s torn it up for the Amerks with 10 points in 11 games. Adding him to the bottom six would allow head coach Don Granato to elevate somebody in the lineup such as Peyton Krebs, who is simply too talented to be trapped in a fourth-line role.
What is more likely is that a prospect will be recalled as the Sabres used their many pipeline talents to fill in for Quinn in the first half of the season and they may do the same again now. Benson has carved a permanent spot for himself with his strong play in spite of his age and there’s plenty of others vying to receive the same opportunity. Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich are the most likely, as both have been up this season already and have excelled with Rochester, but the list doesn’t end there.
No Amerk has earned a shot more over the past few seasons than Brandon Biro. The 25-year-old has been a perennial force and scored his first two career NHL goals after being brought up in October. The Sabres haven’t kept him around enough to show what he’s capable of and he’s deserving of another, longer stay. The exact same can be said for Lukas Rousek.
In terms of what the fans want the most, 2022 first-round pick Matthew Savoie may be at the top of the list. He made his NHL debut in November but it lasted for just a single game and he appeared for less than four minutes in that contest, begging the question of why he was brought up at all. The Western New York faithful will undoubtedly be looking for another glimpse.
A far less-likely option would be making a trade. Both Granato and general manager Kevyn Adams appear keen to stick to their pre-determined plan for this season and it’s unlikely the Sabres will make any big transactions at the upcoming trade deadline, even though shaking things up a touch could be exactly what they need.
Does This Spell Disaster for Sabres?
In a year that hasn’t gone the Sabres’ way at all and one in which they’ve lost a host of players to injury, Quinn going down again is proof that they’ve had some tremendously bad luck. Just when it seemed that they were finding their bearings and putting it together, a major blow again strikes at the worst possible time. Will this be the final nail in the coffin for this season, or will the Sabres find a way to overcome it and resurrect themselves? We’ll soon find out.
