Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Quinn underwent successful surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury sustained in offseason training this week. His recovery time is expected to be four to six months, and he’ll miss the start of next season.
This is extremely unfortunate news for both the Sabres and Quinn, as it could halt the momentum he’d been building after a strong rookie season in the NHL. After tearing the AHL apart last season, Quinn scored 14 goals and 37 points in a 75-game NHL rookie season, earning some stray Calder Trophy votes in the process.
He also represented Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, taking home the gold scoring seven points in 10 games, including one point in Canada’s final four games.
Quinn’s injury won’t knock him out for all of 2022-23, thankfully, but it will impact his availability for the Sabres early in the season. That could impact the Sabres’ desire to trade sniper Victor Olofsson, a 27-year-old forward who is on a contract that expires at the end of the season.
While the Sabres could still opt to get some compensation for Olofsson if they don’t see him in their long-term plans, this injury could very well keep Olofsson in Buffalo a little longer so the team can maintain its forward depth with Quinn out.
This injury could also impact the odds 2022 first-rounder Matthew Savoie gets some NHL games for the Sabres out of training camp. It looks somewhat unlikely at this point that Savoie is ready to make a difference at the NHL level, but with Quinn’s injury, it could be that the team is more eager to see what Savoie can do.
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