The Buffalo Sabres are starting to get healthy at forward. Jason Zucker is returning to the lineup tonight, with Zach Benson possibly playing on Sunday. Josh Norris’ return from injury may not be that far away, either.

We’ve well-documented over the last few days the roster decision Keyvn Adams and Lindy Ruff are facing. Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund, in particular, have taken the most of their opportunity. They have legitimate claims to remain in the lineup when players return from injury.

As a result, some former lineup staples are going to be at risk of being pushed out if they don’t improve their play. One player that is at the top of the list, in my opinion, is Jack Quinn.

The organization was betting on the 24-year-old bouncing back this season, but he has not come through on that.

Trending the Wrong Direction

The frustrating part about Quinn is that you see the flashes of how dangerous he can be offensively, but it’s not enough. When he attacks the middle of the ice and makes defenders respect his shot, he can open the ice for other players.

More often than not, last season and so far this year, we’re seeing poor decisions with the puck. The play on the walls has been bad, and staying on the perimeter far too much.

His numbers reflect this. He has two assists in his last 10 games and hasn’t scored a goal in 13 games. He’s on pace to score fewer goals and points over 82 games than he did in 74 last season. His production and shooting rates have all been the worst or near the bottom of his career in the previous four years.

	G/60	PTS/60	ixG/60	iFF/60	iCF/60
2025-26	0.24	1.43	0.59	8.84	12.18
2024-25	0.74	1.61	0.54	10.21	13.90
2023-24	1.46	2.93	0.84	11.89	15.55
2022-23	0.91	2.11	0.76	10.10	14.31

From an on-ice perspective, the numbers are poor as well. His on-ice goals per hour are the lowest over the last four years, and his expected goals for per hour are the second-worst. Relative to the team, he’s seventh among all forwards in on-ice goal differential at 45% and 11th in expected goal share at 5 on 5, according to Evolving Hockey.

The power play is another area that has not gone well for Quinn. Of course, it’s not entirely his fault. We know that the system and structure are flawed. Having said that, he’s not making things look any better. Quinn has turned the puck over routinely and is not posing a threat while with the top unit.

Going to the WOWY chart has its flaws, especially in a small sample, but the heat maps of shot quality tell a story on the Sabres’ power play. It looks considerably more dangerous when Quinn is not on the ice.

The problem that Quinn has is that both Rosen and Ostlund are outplaying him. Not only at 5 on 5, but on the power play as well. He’s going to get every opportunity to be successful because of his contract, which has another year on it after this one.

This organization is going to have to look itself in the mirror and decide what’s more important. Continuing to see if Quinn can get back to the player he was two or more years ago. Or is it time to put the best roster on the ice that can help them win games, and that may not include Quinn at the moment?

The skill and the potential are there for the former top 10 pick. I do believe his skating has improved from last season, but a lot of the same issues beyond that remain.

Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Data: Evolving Hockey and Hockeyviz