What in the world happened to Jack Quinn?

[sabremike]

While Jack Quinn is one of the worst most negative value players in the entire league Marco Rossi is tearing it up in Minnesota.

HECKUVA JOB KEVYN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Palm Trees And Taxes]

Quinn is finished. Of course until he is traded too soon

[ska-T Palmtown]

29 minutes ago, sabremike said:

While Jack Quinn is one of the worst most negative value players in the entire league Marco Rossi is tearing it up in Minnesota.

HECKUVA JOB KEVYN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i mean - Quinn might also be nearly a point per game player if we were playing with Kirill The Thrill instead of Dylan Not Thrillin' (that worked out better than I could have hoped for)

[mjd1001]

18 hours ago, ska-T Palmtown said:

i mean - Quinn might also be nearly a point per game player if we were playing with Kirill The Thrill instead of Dylan Not Thrillin' (that worked out better than I could have hoped for)

Quinn is the biggest mystery to me on this team.  I am baffled. I cannot even come up with a concept as to what has happened to him.

An offseason injury we didn't know about that he is playing through MIGHT explain things, but the team has stated a few times there is nothing to that at all.

One thing is for sure. He IS avoiding the front of the net unlike anyone else on this team, unlike anyone else in the league probabably, and unlike he has in his first couple of years.

I know I just posted this a few days ago in this very thread but...

-compared to other Sabres wingers on how much they are going to the front of the net and getting shots off from there this year:  Benson has 23 high danger shots(46.9% of his shots). Peterka has 18 (24.7%). Tuch has 22 (26.8%), Zucker has 30 (44.8%).  Quinn? Quinn has 1 (1.8%)

-There is probably not a more 'perimeter' top 6/top9 forward in the league now than Quinn. Even Olofsson has 15% of his shots from those areas in front of the net for Vegas this year, and 18% last year for the Sabres.

I just have zero clue, zero way to even explain the above. It has to be related to his lack of production, but why is he almost refusing to go to the front of the net anymore and all of a sudden?

[bob_sauve28]

Quinn looks really good coming off the wall on the PP. 2025 will be a nice year if Quinn is the solution to our PP ills 

[mjd1001]

After scoring 4 goals in 5 games to appear to 'come out' of whatever slump he was in (and took 13 shots on goal in those 5 games), Quinn now hasn't even had a single shot on net in his last 3 games despite 15+ minutes of ice time in each of them and time on the first power play unit.

I really am struggling to figure him out.

[PickaPecaPickles]

On 1/1/2025 at 6:08 PM, ska-T Palmtown said:

I don't know why The Myth Of Jack Quinn's Recovery persists. The numbers and the fabled 'eye test' from last year - the time most immediate to his two recoveries contradicts this sentiment in every way.

**Tears Achilles Tendon, owwie! comes back at the early end of the recovery window**

Dec 19 - Jan 27: 17 gams, 12 points, or ~58 points/82 pace (better than his rookie year of ~40 pts/82gms)

**Breaks leg, ouch! misses ~8 weeks**

Mar 27 - April 15: 10 games, 7 points, or ~ 57 point pace (again, better than his rookie year)

So TWICE last season he came back from injury and both times he was outplaying his rookie year numbers.

The 👏 injuries 👏 are 👏 not 👏 his 👏 problem 👏 this 👏 year 👏.

@PickaPecaPickles might be on to something about the style of play or trying to play responsibly.

Looks like Ruff has had enough of those three playing together as practice lines in Vegas are the same: Cozens up to first line; Tuch to second with Quinn and Kulich; and JJP with Krebs and Benson.

[Believer]

18 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

Quinn is the biggest mystery to me on this team.  I am baffled. I cannot even come up with a concept as to what has happened to him.

An offseason injury we didn't know about that he is playing through MIGHT explain things, but the team has stated a few times there is nothing to that at all.

One thing is for sure. He IS avoiding the front of the net unlike anyone else on this team, unlike anyone else in the league probabably, and unlike he has in his first couple of years.

I know I just posted this a few days ago in this very thread but...

-compared to other Sabres wingers on how much they are going to the front of the net and getting shots off from there this year:  Benson has 23 high danger shots(46.9% of his shots). Peterka has 18 (24.7%). Tuch has 22 (26.8%), Zucker has 30 (44.8%).  Quinn? Quinn has 1 (1.8%)

-There is probably not a more 'perimeter' top 6/top9 forward in the league now than Quinn. Even Olofsson has 15% of his shots from those areas in front of the net for Vegas this year, and 18% last year for the Sabres.

I just have zero clue, zero way to even explain the above. It has to be related to his lack of production, but why is he almost refusing to go to the front of the net anymore and all of a sudden?

Good question.

Fear, my guess.

[bob_sauve28]

15 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

After scoring 4 goals in 5 games to appear to 'come out' of whatever slump he was in (and took 13 shots on goal in those 5 games), Quinn now hasn't even had a single shot on net in his last 3 games despite 15+ minutes of ice time in each of them and time on the first power play unit.

I really am struggling to figure him out.

He had some super nice passes and was really good on the PP. How many assists has he had in those three games? 

Quinn on the wall on the PP might just be the thing that gets the PP moving in right direction. 

[Pimlach]

Anyone notice Peterka getting less ice lately?  
 

Ruff did not use Peterka, Quinn, Benson, Krebs and Lafferty for much of the 3rd period versus Colorado.  Kind of hard to win in Colorado’s thin air when half your forwards are benched.  

[mjd1001]

8 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Anyone notice Peterka getting less ice lately?  
 

Ruff did not use Peterka, Quinn, Benson, Krebs and Lafferty for much of the 3rd period versus Colorado.  Kind of hard to win in Colorado’s thin air when half your forwards are benched.  

Benson seems to have games where he gets 2nd line minutes (16+ minutes per game), and other games where he is 12 or under...or under 10 like he did in Colorado.

I wonder why.  Yeah, he is young, and Ruff has spoken highly about him, but I wonder if there are just times where he is making bad plays, not being in proper position to allow for him having frequent games with lower ice time.

Its a small sample size, but he is 3rd on the entire team in even strength goals per 60.  Tage is WAY out in front of everyone, but after him, Benson is right there with anyone else on the team in terms of scoring per minutes of ice time.

[Ctaeth]

Feels relevant to bring up Quinn right now in the middle of his hot streak.  8 points in last 4 games.  Maybe a glimmer of hope?

The real reason I wanted to revive this thread was two fold:

1) Apparently Lance talked to Quinn at some point.  The linked article (https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/article_c728a2c0-c308-44cd-a221-49a5abe699d0.html) has a few quotes from Quinn with commentary from Lance.  Obviously there's a paywall with the BN so I'm not going to post the whole thing, but here's a few snippets:  

Quote

Quinn played the final 10 games last season after suffering the broken fibula in San Jose on Jan. 31, but it was too soon for him to train like he typically does each summer.

 

Quote

The workout limitations did not appear to be problematic until the season began in Prague on Oct. 4. Quinn’s first stride wasn’t as quick and efficient as it was before the injuries. He noticed lower-body strength was also a problem, which caused him to adjust his between-games workout routines.

So, in other words, the injury did affect him this season because it didn't allow him to train like he normally would and thus he was slower.

The other thing relevant to Quinn is coming late to the morning meeting and getting benched because of it.  It sounds like he was pretty embarassed about it.

Quote

Panic-stricken, Quinn quickly discovered what went wrong. His cellphone wasn’t on, and he was going to be late to the Sabres’ team meeting before their game against the Minnesota Wild.

Quinn, a 23-year-old winger, rushed to join his teammates, but the damage was done. He apologized profusely and accepted his punishment from Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who scratched Quinn for the 4-1 loss to the Wild.

“Obviously, I totally understand his decision,” Quinn told The Buffalo News ahead of the Sabres’ game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in KeyBank Center. “It was a tough morning. My phone shut down, so I slept through the alarm that I set, and I was late to the meeting. I apologized to the boys and focused on moving on. It was a tough break.”

since missing that meeting and being scratched as a result, he's +5 with 8 points in 5 games.  maybe jack's motivation for this recent spurt of good play is tied to him being embarrassed about the missing the meeting?

2)  the infamous blue and gold insights regarding conditionining:  https://x.com/TheSabreReport/status/1905042868437213435

Ruff blames the Sabres issues partially on conditioning coming into the year.  Based on the above, seems likely Quinn is at the very least partially the reason behind this

 

Let's hope our boy is on track.  Based on Ruff's quotes from Blue and Gold insights, it seems likely that both him and Quinn will be back next year.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 hours ago, Ctaeth said:

Let's hope our boy is on track.  Based on Ruff's quotes from Blue and Gold insights, it seems likely that both him and Quinn will be back next year.

In the broadcast last night they talk about Lindy playing guys he trusts at the end of games.  Quinn was on the ice at the end of the game last night.

[matter2003]

The same thing that happened to Carmen San Diego?

[DarthEbriate]

11 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

The same thing that happened to Carmen San Diego?

Flag that looks like two triangles...  Quinn was in Nepal!

[Thorny]

28 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

The same thing that happened to Carmen San Diego?

Watching them move those red lamps around on that floor map at the end was so stressful 

[Believer]

7 hours ago, Ctaeth said:

Feels relevant to bring up Quinn right now in the middle of his hot streak.  8 points in last 4 games.  Maybe a glimmer of hope?

The real reason I wanted to revive this thread was two fold:

1) Apparently Lance talked to Quinn at some point.  The linked article (https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/article_c728a2c0-c308-44cd-a221-49a5abe699d0.html) has a few quotes from Quinn with commentary from Lance.  Obviously there's a paywall with the BN so I'm not going to post the whole thing, but here's a few snippets:  

 

So, in other words, the injury did affect him this season because it didn't allow him to train like he normally would and thus he was slower.

The other thing relevant to Quinn is coming late to the morning meeting and getting benched because of it.  It sounds like he was pretty embarassed about it.

since missing that meeting and being scratched as a result, he's +5 with 8 points in 5 games.  maybe jack's motivation for this recent spurt of good play is tied to him being embarrassed about the missing the meeting?

2)  the infamous blue and gold insights regarding conditionining:  https://x.com/TheSabreReport/status/1905042868437213435

Ruff blames the Sabres issues partially on conditioning coming into the year.  Based on the above, seems likely Quinn is at the very least partially the reason behind this

 

Let's hope our boy is on track.  Based on Ruff's quotes from Blue and Gold insights, it seems likely that both him and Quinn will be back next year.

 

Thanks for posting the BN snippets, Ctaeth. Does give his firsthand context to Quinn missing the team meeting and his slow start.

Certainly been playing well since the benching.

If the kid is back, will be a pivotal year at age 24. Needs a good offseason. Put on 10 lbs of muscle and a determination to elevate his 200 ft game with a fast start.

Edited March 31 by Believer

[matter2003]

8 hours ago, Ctaeth said:

Feels relevant to bring up Quinn right now in the middle of his hot streak.  8 points in last 4 games.  Maybe a glimmer of hope?

The real reason I wanted to revive this thread was two fold:

1) Apparently Lance talked to Quinn at some point.  The linked article (https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/article_c728a2c0-c308-44cd-a221-49a5abe699d0.html) has a few quotes from Quinn with commentary from Lance.  Obviously there's a paywall with the BN so I'm not going to post the whole thing, but here's a few snippets:  

 

So, in other words, the injury did affect him this season because it didn't allow him to train like he normally would and thus he was slower.

The other thing relevant to Quinn is coming late to the morning meeting and getting benched because of it.  It sounds like he was pretty embarassed about it.

since missing that meeting and being scratched as a result, he's +5 with 8 points in 5 games.  maybe jack's motivation for this recent spurt of good play is tied to him being embarrassed about the missing the meeting?

2)  the infamous blue and gold insights regarding conditionining:  https://x.com/TheSabreReport/status/1905042868437213435

Ruff blames the Sabres issues partially on conditioning coming into the year.  Based on the above, seems likely Quinn is at the very least partially the reason behind this

 

Let's hope our boy is on track.  Based on Ruff's quotes from Blue and Gold insights, it seems likely that both him and Quinn will be back next year.

 

Quinn has the potential to be such a special player, here's hoping he gets it figured out for next year.

[mjd1001]

I'm not as optimistic on Quinn as some, but I'm not ready to give up on him.

I don't think I need to see him get bigger/strong. For me its about his throught process and effort.  Go to the front of the net more, and for sure engage more in the neutral zone and D-zone.  

I honestly can't tell if he is good or not at engaging players in the D-zone or backchecking/winning battles in the neutral zone...because you hardly see him even try to do those things.  I don't think there has been a more invisible forward outside of the offensive zone since Jeff Skinner.

He has a good shot. He needs to be taking 200+ shots per year. But not just ANY shots.  He needs to work to get into better position, can't be a perimeter guy (which he has been for most of this year). I know he loves to take that shot from inside the circles, but he seems to too often just hang around there waiting for someone to get him the puck. 

Maybe the recent success that has been with him playing with McLeod is that McLeod's skating if forcing Quinn to move a bit more.  Such a small sample size though, the next 9 games will be important, and next year is a make-or-break year for him.

If Tuch can score 30+ 2 of the last 3 years, Quinn has the shot to do it too. Just he needs to earn the extra ice time to allow him to get more chances by improving the rest of his game, and he has to skate a lot harder himself to generate his own chances, instead of the vast majority of his chances being generated by someone else on his line.

Edited March 31 by mjd1001

[Doohickie]

3 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

In the broadcast last night they talk about Lindy playing guys he trusts at the end of games.

Cliche. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just some stats on Östlund this season.

Noah has 35 points in 43 games including 18 goals and is a +20.  4 PPG and 3 SHG.  That is a stellar rookie campaign in the A and for a 1st NA season.  But that only tells part of the tale.

In his 1st 12 games in NA, Noah had 1g 0a with a +1

In the next 31 games he scored 17g 17a + 19.

In his last 7 games he added 7g 5a +12

This is someone who is improving game by game and rapidly before our eyes.  I downgraded him on my prospect list for the slow start.  I am thrilled to be proven wrong about this young player.  He is probably the best prospect in our system at this point.

https://theahl.com/stats/player/10157  (Östlund game log)

 

Edited April 1 by GASabresIUFAN

[inkman]

Speaking of Jack Quinn

https://heavy.com/sports/nhl/vegas-golden-knights/trade-pitch-peterka-sabres-blockbuster/amp/

[Cascade Youth]

I would not be surprised if Quinn becomes a perennial all star or if he washes out of the league completely.  Literally either option seems highly possible.

[Mr. MVP]

18 minutes ago, inkman said:

Speaking of Jack Quinn

https://heavy.com/sports/nhl/vegas-golden-knights/trade-pitch-peterka-sabres-blockbuster/amp/

Am I like one of those Ranger fans who overvalue all of their players?  Because I think this trade offer is terrible. 

[JohnC]

14 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I'm not as optimistic on Quinn as some, but I'm not ready to give up on him.

I don't think I need to see him get bigger/strong. For me its about his throught process and effort.  Go to the front of the net more, and for sure engage more in the neutral zone and D-zone.  

I honestly can't tell if he is good or not at engaging players in the D-zone or backchecking/winning battles in the neutral zone...because you hardly see him even try to do those things.  I don't think there has been a more invisible forward outside of the offensive zone since Jeff Skinner.

He has a good shot. He needs to be taking 200+ shots per year. But not just ANY shots.  He needs to work to get into better position, can't be a perimeter guy (which he has been for most of this year). I know he loves to take that shot from inside the circles, but he seems to too often just hang around there waiting for someone to get him the puck. 

Maybe the recent success that has been with him playing with McLeod is that McLeod's skating if forcing Quinn to move a bit more.  Such a small sample size though, the next 9 games will be important, and next year is a make-or-break year for him.

If Tuch can score 30+ 2 of the last 3 years, Quinn has the shot to do it too. Just he needs to earn the extra ice time to allow him to get more chances by improving the rest of his game, and he has to skate a lot harder himself to generate his own chances, instead of the vast majority of his chances being generated by someone else on his line.

You hit on the issue that will differentiate whether he becomes a good player or more of an offensive specialty player, like Skinner. I'm a little more optimistic than you are regarding his prospects. His recent good play which came after his benching for being late to a meeting seemed to light a spark in him. I have to give the coach credit for holding players accountable. It seems the development priority has now been subordinated to the performance priority. 

The GM and organization have placed a big bet on the development of players such as Quinn, JJP and Kulich. The big challenge for them is not in the offensive zone, that comes naturally to them, as it is being able to play a responsible two-way game that allows them not to become a liability in end of game situations.