The Buffalo Sabres have made a habit of keeping their core forwards in the fold, and Jack Quinn looks like the next one in line for a bigger payday.
Quinn is entering the final season of the two-year deal that carries a $3.375 million AAV, and The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn wrote today that his next contract “could be in the $8 million range” if he keeps building on what he showed last season. At 25, Quinn has gone from one of the organization’s top prospects to a reliable middle-six winger, and his numbers are starting to match that rise.
Last season, Quinn set a career high with 20 goals and 51 points in 82 games. He also added seven points in 13 playoff games as Buffalo ended the league’s longest postseason drought and fell just one goal short of the Eastern Conference Final.
With salaries climbing around the NHL, a step up into the neighborhood of 25 goals and more than 60 points would put Quinn in position to cash in next summer. For now, he’s on Buffalo’s second line with Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund.
There’s also some injury uncertainty on the Sabres’ blue line heading into the opener.
Mattias Samuelsson told the media today, including The Buffalo News’ Rachel Lenzi, that he feels good in his recovery from a lower-body injury and hasn’t been ruled out for tomorrow’s season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He said he will “see how [he] responds after a real skate” tomorrow morning, and that skate will likely decide whether he’s ready for Game 1.
Samuelsson is one of two expected regular defensemen dealing with injuries as the season begins. Offseason addition Olen Zellweger has already been ruled out for tomorrow while he continues through concussion protocol.
In the organization’s minor-league system, the Rochester Americans added veteran defenseman Zack Hayes on a professional tryout.
Hayes is 27, shoots left, and checks in at 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds. He has 214 games of professional experience and originally came into the league as an undrafted signing out of the WHL by the Vegas Golden Knights.
He reached the NHL in his second pro season, in 2021-22, but hasn’t appeared at that level since. After his entry-level contract expired in the summer of 2023, he didn’t land another NHL deal and has since bounced around, spending 2023-24 in Finland’s Liiga, 2024-25 with the Laval Rocket, and 2025-26 with the Milwaukee Admirals.
In Other News...
Former Sabres Just Revived A Brutal Question For Buffalo
The first night of the 2026-27 NHL season served up an uncomfortable reminder for Buffalo, with a cluster of former Sabres immediately making an impact elsewhere. Jordan Greenway got on the board for the Chicago Blackhawks, JJ Peterka scored for the Boston Bruins, and Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson each found the net for the Vegas Golden Knights, a sharp start that put a familiar ex-Sabres problem back in focus.
For Buffalo, the bigger issue is not just that these players moved on, but that they wasted no time looking at home in their new sweaters. Eichels and Olofssons goals came in Vegas, while Greenway and Peterka added theirs in separate debuts that only deepened the sense that the Sabres are still carrying around the same old question about talent development and what happens after players leave Western New York. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Already Face An Opening Night Blue Line Problem
The Sabres are heading into the season with an early blue line question before they even get through opening night. Buffalos defense was already under a spotlight, and now the team has to start the year without Olen Zellweger, who is dealing with concussion protocol at the worst possible time for a group trying to find its footing right away.
There is at least some hope the absence does not stretch long. Zellweger could be back in time for Saturdays home opener against Chicago, which would give Buffalo a quick boost if he clears in time. Until then, the Sabres will have to manage the opener shorthanded on defense while other teams in the division are already dealing with their own injury news, including the Islanders waiting on Mathew Barzal and the Blackhawks being without Andrew Mangiapane. [Read more 🡒]
Jessica Pegula Just Opened A New Buffalo Sports Conversation
Jessica Pegula spent part of a CNBC Sport interview looking past the baseline and into the next chapter, and for Buffalo fans it was hard not to hear the bigger implication. The tennis star, who has long been tied to one of the citys most prominent sports families, made it clear she has an eye on staying in the sporting world once her playing days are done.
What made the comment resonate locally is where that future could lead, even if nothing is imminent. Pegula said she may help her family run the Bills after her tennis career ends, a thought that naturally invites fresh conversation about how deeply the Pegula familys influence could continue to shape Buffalo sports, and in what role she might eventually fit. [Read more 🡒]