Buffalo Sabres Make Significant About-Face On Jack Quinn

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Quinn found his name on the rumor mill this past offseason. In fact, several reports suggest that he was offered up as part of a trade package to the Winnipeg Jets for goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, around the time of the Draft in late June.

But times have changed in Buffalo. Not that they don't still figure into the mix on a potential Connor Hellebuyck trade. But the fact that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has come out and sung Quinn's praises indicate that he likely won't be going anywhere.

The 25-year-old Quinn, the former 8th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is a pending restricted free agent after the season. He's in the final year of a two-year bridge deal paying him a $3.375 million AAV. 

But Quinn's red-hot start to the new campaign—five goals and nine points in nine games—has Kekalainen talking like Quinn is a keeper, and an extension is on the horizon. 

"He's always been a skilled goal-scorer and a skilled player. Now he's getting more on the inside into the areas where he scores goals from, and the results are there. So we need him to keep trending the same way, and we have no problem paying a player that's playing great. So we intend to keep Jack here for a long time."

                                                  GM Jarmo Kekalainen, WGR Sports Radio 550

Head coach Lindy Ruff is also impressed with the strides Quinn has made. 

"He put a lot of work in the last two summers," said Ruff, per The Hockey News. "I'll go back to when I scratched him two years ago, and we put him in a weight room for two weeks, and when he came out of there, he was a better player. But he didn't look for an excuse. He said, 'I'm going to do the work', and since then he's done the work, and he's getting paid dividends for that."

The Sabres certainly haven't been shy about locking up their young core to long-term deals. Zach Benson ($7.5M AAV), Josh Doan ($6.95M), Noah Ostlund ($6.6M) and Peyton Krebs ($4.5M) all being locked up within the past year. 

AFP Analytics has projected Quinn at a five-year extension with a $7.5 million AAV. He had career highs of 20 goals and 51 points last season.