Quinn sustained "freak" injury during off-season training, could be out 4 to 6 months
NASHVILLE – Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn is expected to make a full recovery after having surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury sustained during training.
Quinn, 21, was injured while working on his explosiveness, with general manager Kevyn Adams saying it’s “just one of those freak things.” He didn’t have an exact timeline but said it’s a “significant recovery.” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported it could be between four to six months.
“These things happen,” Adams said Thursday after Day 2 of the 2023 NHL Draft concluded. “It was tough news, obviously, for Jack, first of all, and us. He’s a really important guy in our lineup. What I told Jack on the phone is I know the character and person he is, and I’ve also been assured by our doctors this is something that he’ll make a full recovery. He’ll come back bigger, better and stronger than ever. It’s adversity, it’s a bump in the road for him. But the type of mindset he has, no worries about how he’ll come out the other side.”
Quinn had 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 75 games in his rookie NHL season, progressing as the season went on. Adams selected him with his first-ever pick as GM, at No. 8 in 2020.
The youngster has responded to adversity well thus far in his career. After undergoing hernia surgery in 2021, he went on to a produce a dynamic rookie season in the American Hockey League in 2021-22, with 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists) in 45 games. His play earned him the Dudley (Red) Garrett Award as the AHL’s most outstanding rookie.
With free agency opening Saturday, Adams said he doesn’t know that Quinn’s sudden long-term absence necessarily changed his plans but that “it’s something we’ll be thinking about over the next 48 hours and evaluate.”