The Winnipeg Jets are looking to make meaningful additions to their offense heading into next season as they push to get back into playoff contention, and it may come by way of another trade with the Buffalo Sabres, though not involving the player most people are thinking of.
It’s well known by now that the Jets received a substantial trade offer for superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck that reportedly included the fourth overall pick, starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a player believed to be Jack Quinn and at least one additional asset.
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Now the trade talks between the two clubs appear to be shifting toward a much smaller piece of that same deal. The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta has once again linked the Jets to Quinn as Winnipeg continues searching for an impact forward to add to its top six.
Quinn, 24, is a young two-way winger with plenty of upside as a former eighth overall pick at the 2020 NHL Draft, and his game has continued to trend in the right direction. The Cobden, Ontario native is coming off a career-best 51-point season on 20 goals in all 82 games for Buffalo, along with seven points in the playoffs.
Buffalo may look to move the young talent as he enters the final year of his contract before becoming a restricted free agent next summer, and the Sabres have reportedly been shopping him since before the draft in search of a roster upgrade rather than more draft capital.
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If the Jets can find a way to make it work, it could give them a meaningful addition to their top six, though the exact cost of acquiring Quinn on his own, separate from any larger Hellebuyck package, is not yet known.
It could take a notable return, especially with Buffalo looking to build off the momentum from this past season, when the Sabres beat the Boston Bruins in six games in the first round before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in a seven-game battle in the second.
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