There is no sugar coating the Sabres’ season as a whole so far as they sit at a measly 14-18-4 record, are on pace to miss the playoffs yet again, and have another top-10 draft pick come June. With all the talent the team has, it is a wonder how they are playing so poor. One player in particular has not been in the lineup for very long due to an injury sustained earlier in the year, but they have all the right tools to be a difference maker. That player is Jack Quinn.
Quinn was out for the start of the season with an achilles injury, and his absence from the top-six forward group was very noticeable. His usual linemates of JJ Peterka and Dylan Cozens were being shuffled around, and Cozens especially has been on a deep slump due to it. While Peterka has been playing very well, adding Quinn to the mix of forwards on the top two lines will only help this team produce more goals, an area that they have struggled with all season.
Quinn Scoring Goals Will Be Impactful
The Sabres’ offense is typically run through Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Jeff Skinner on the top line, but with every one of them besides Skinner playing below their expected numbers, Quinn should have a huge opportunity to contribute. As a right-handed shooting forward, he adds a different dynamic to the offense, and it also gives head coach Don Granato more options for plays to put the puck in the net. With Quinn being a goal scorer first, he has the instincts to go to the best places on the ice to score, and he has been doing just that since his return.
So far he has two goals in four games, and both of them have come from his willingness to go to the slot and the front of the net. One goal was a tap in on a drive to the net, and the other was a pure snipe from the high slot on the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin. As he continues to get back into the groove of things, his goal scoring should progressively get better. Another opportunity that he will have, and deserves more than most, is time on the power play. At this point, he can only help, but the only question is, f he gets used in a way that makes sense as opposed to the poor strategies of the current power plays.
Quinn’s Special Teams Skill Is Needed
The Sabres’ power play is one of the saddest things about their season so far. They are predictable, passive, and have a reluctance to put the puck on net, which all results in much less scoring than last season. Quinn, if given the right opportunity, would be a fantastic boost to the man advantage. He can score goals from anywhere in the offensive zone, and his underrated playmaking ability will create more open space for the other players like Zach Benson, Peterka, and Cozens. If Granato is serious about improving the power play, he will put Quinn on the left side to have the best angle to pass and shoot. Using him as the primary driver for for the second unit instead of Owen Power at the point will give a much-needed new dimension to the power play.
Beyond the power play, Quinn also has some solid defensive skills that work well on the penalty kill. He is smart with and without the puck, and he has a very good hockey sense to read plays and transition them into offensive chances. He would be one of the better players to have shorthanded opportunities when they come to fruition, and having his speed and finishing ability only makes him more valuable in that position. He deserves an expanded role, and once he is given that chance, the Sabres will improve in a number of ways.
Quinn Deserves More Opportunity Than He Gets
Yes, he is a top-six staple and as a young player he should earn his right to play more minutes, but the reality is that he has. He and Peterka have shown a lot this season and they both deserve a bigger role than they are getting. Granato does not seem to want to adjust as the season progresses and put players in good positions to succeed, but if Quinn were to be given that chance, there would be a lot he would provide. The offense is stagnant and it is time to give a look to Quinn on the first line. Cozens has been snakebitten all season, and he needs some new line mates to spice things up. Switching Cozens and Thompson’s wingers would bring out so many new possibilities, and it would allow everyone involved a chance to grow.
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Putting Quinn on the first line with Thompson and Peterka keeps enough of the chemistry together while also giving each player something new to work with. Thompson can continue to strive to improve while feeding off the young hungry energy of both Quinn and Peterka, and the two wingers will have an elite scoring center than can make plays happen for them while also finishing the chances they create. He has all the right tools to make the Sabres better, but it is up to Granato to see that and put him in a position to succeed. If the scoring slump continues for Buffalo as a whole, I don’t see why Quinn shouldn’t be given a first line role to get things going.
