Jack Quinn’s start has put Buffalo in a spot it probably hoped to be in, just not this quickly.
Through nine games, the Sabres winger has piled up nine points, with five goals and five assists, and he’s looked like the kind of difference-maker Buffalo envisioned when it took him No. 8 overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. After standing out in training camp, the 25-year-old has carried that momentum right into the season and has become one of the team’s early bright spots.
That surge has even drawn a bold call from DFO’s Steven Ellis, who sees Quinn as a legitimate candidate to reach a rare scoring plateau.
"With increased usage and a line that's clearly working, Quinn looks ready to challenge for a 40-goal season. His underlying numbers are good, his confidence seems to be at a sky-high level, and he's making plays he has never made before. He's currently tracking for 47 goals this year; that'll change, but 40 feels like a realistic target for a guy with one of the best shots on the team."
DFO's Steven Ellis on Sabres' Jack Quinn
That kind of projection would have sounded ambitious not long ago, even for a player with Quinn’s offensive pedigree. The Ontario native had long looked like he had another gear, the one that might eventually get him to 30 goals. Forty would be another leap entirely.
The track record is there, though. Quinn exploded for 52 goals in 62 games in his final OHL season with the Ottawa 67's, a run that pushed him into top-10 draft territory. He also showed plenty of finishing ability with the AHL's Rochester Americans, scoring 26 goals in 45 games in 2021-22 before settling into Buffalo.
What had kept him from fully breaking through with the Sabres was consistency. Across his first four seasons, the skill was obvious, but the production didn’t always match it, and he often gave more back defensively than he created offensively. That balance has shifted early this season.
His compete level has climbed sharply, and the result has been a much more reliable presence for head coach Lindy Ruff. Quinn is averaging 19:34 of ice time, a big jump from his career mark of 15:03, and he has looked far more comfortable in a larger role.
He’s also doing it on a line with Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund, and the fit has helped fuel the hot start. The only real question now is whether he can keep this pace across all 84 games.
There’s another layer here, too: money. Quinn is playing for a new contract as an impending restricted free agent, and the timing could not be better for him in a market where rising salary cap numbers are pushing contract values higher.
He’s currently on a team-friendly $3.375 million AAV in 2026-27, but he’s already positioned himself for a major raise on his next deal. At minimum, he looks set to double that figure, and if his push toward 40 goals holds, a tripling of that number is not out of the question.
That creates a real decision point for Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. His preference has been to lock up young players to long-term extensions early, as he did with Josh Doan, Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund. With Quinn, that window is already narrowing because of how hot he’s started.
Now Buffalo has to weigh whether a shorter deal makes more sense to see if this level of production sticks, or whether a seven-year commitment is still the play even as salaries keep climbing. It’s the kind of call that tends to look much clearer in hindsight.
For now, Quinn is simply making the front office think hard about what comes next. He’s not the only notable RFA on Buffalo’s horizon either, with Jiri Kulich and Colten Ellis also in that group for 2027.
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The latest look gives Kulich a real chance to matter in a meaningful way, even if the Sabres are still sorting out the rest of their forward group. Jason Zucker is also on his way back after offseason surgery, adding another moving piece to the mix and another reason Buffalo is keeping a close eye on how these lines settle in over the next few games. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Norris Is Finally Giving The Sabres What They Needed
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Norris has scored in two of his last three games, and Ruff has pointed to the physical side of his game as a sign that the Sabres are getting the full package. Around him, the offense has been adding milestones too, with Tage Thompson continuing to climb the franchise scoring charts, but Norris is the one whose recent surge could matter most if Buffalo wants more consistency from its top end and its depth at the same time. [Read more 🡒]