Despite injuries creating roster issues, the ever-changing look of the Sabres is getting another alteration.
The Buffalo Sabres return from their mini-western jaunt to in which they went 1-2-0 against Colorado, Vegas, and Arizona came saw them return home with as many questions as they left town with in the first place.
Although Alex Tuch returned to the lineup in Denver, he missed Monday’s practice with a maintenance day because the issue that kept him out for four games (listed as lower-body but seemed pretty clear to be a hamstring issue when he was injured against Nashville) is still nagging him.
Jack Quinn, whose torn Achilles has kept him out of action all season, skated in Tuch’s spot on the first line wing with Zach Benson and Tage Thompson. What could’ve been a placeholder spot for him may have been a preview of what we’ll see Tuesday against Columbus.
“He looks ready to go, it could be as soon as tomorrow,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.
“The target originally was about this timeframe and then you go through all the progressions—which he went through at a pretty good pace—and then the last progression would be a real full-go physicality and battle. We actually gave him extra days of that. He got a lot today, which I don’t remember when the last full practice we had, but it’s been a while. So, today was a real good test for him in a way we weren’t able to test him much in the last month really and he was real good with it. So, I’ll have another conversation with him and with medical and we’ll see where we’re at. If it’s not tomorrow, it’s real close.”
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Not only is Quinn set up to return, either Tuesday against Columbus or Thursday against Toronto, but Jordan Greenway is also close to returning to the ice as well. Granato was uncertain if he’d be ready to return later this week or what, but he’s close, day-to-day close. And Tuch’s absence, or not, hinges upon how he can manage the nagging issue.
Quinn’s return to action is a much-needed development with Jeff Skinner on the shelf after he was injured in Colorado from Nathan MacKinnon trucking him. His absence all season has been felt in various ways both in how the lineup’s gone through different changes and the way they’ve ridden the highs and lows of how their wings’ production all season.
“Jack Quinn is a highly intelligent hockey player,” Granato said. “He can add a lot. The faster we can get him up to speed, the better. We’ve been missing him and what he brings, but he is one of our more intelligent, cerebral hockey players and brings a whole lot of skill. And obviously by virtue of his age, he’s in that range of improving by the minute it seems.”
Quinn’s return is welcome, but expectations may need to be tempered because coming back from a torn Achilles is an arduous process that continues even after he’s back playing in games.
“I will be watching the minutes and response,” Granato said. “He hasn’t played since, whatever it is, seven or eight months ago, so you don’t want him to be over-fatigued. How taxing is a shift, how taxing is the first game? It’s all going to be monitored very closely by me and I’ll be asking a lot of questions to (the medical staff and conditioning staff).”
Think of how tough it was for Max Pacioretty, who Quinn got support from through his own process. Think of Erik Karlsson who dealt with a partial tear years ago with Ottawa and still needed time to get back to his full game. Take into account how he’ll need that adjustment time as well as the pressure he’ll feel coming back knowing the Sabres desperately need to string wins together to actually be part of the playoff race as opposed to sitting too far outside of it before the New Year. It’s partially a self-made mess but also one of circumstances. Injuries stink and can sink seasons with ease. But part of management means being equal parts prepared for problems and being able to navigate the choppy waters of roster management when even the best preparations don’t pan out.
With all of the player movement machinations moving ahead, the roster was at a breaking point of sorts.
They’re again carrying three goalies and they’ve carried eight defensemen since Ryan Johnson was called up and never left even after Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju returned to good health. But as awkward and untenable as it is to have three goalies, keep eight healthy defensemen is equally difficult and with Quinn’s return imminent, Jacob Bryson was placed on waivers Monday.
It’s deeply unfortunate to see Bryson on waivers. He’s one of the most well-liked players in the room and a genuinely good guy. He’s a solid defender caught in a numbers game, however, and when you break down whether it was better to waive Bryson or a goaltender, the chances of Bryson and his $1.85 million cap hit getting through waivers (the same day two other defensemen, Lucas Johansen and Ryan Shea, hit waivers) are better than that of a goaltender with an equally similar cap hit getting through given what’s going on with Carolina (waived Antti Raanta) and Los Angeles (Pheonix Copley on LTIR).
Hockey is a business of course and there’s a finite number of roster spots so not everyone can stick around who they want to keep around. It’s tough for Bryson, however. He’s been the classic “good soldier” about the situation and even though he’s been healthy all season, he played in three games and was a healthy scratch for the other 27. If he’s claimed, he’ll get a chance elsewhere in the NHL but if not, he’ll join Rochester where there are already two NHL-caliber defensemen playing big minutes in Kale Clague and Riley Stillman. The Sabres would be happy for Bryson if he can play elsewhere, but they’d no doubt love to keep him in the organization.
We’re not here to bury the Sabres as yet because 50-plus games is a lot of time for things to change course, but if by the time April rolls around and the talk of what went wrong for this team circles back to not pulling the right strings when it was announced in late-June that Quinn would be out until close to Christmas time, that’s going to be a tough one to swallow given the timing and what could’ve been addressed better and more clearly at the time.
For now, Quinn’s return provides a major lift to a team that needs an offensive injection, particularly while it sorts through various other injuries up front. The question that gets answered in due time is whether or not they made the right moves to weather the storm caused by his torn tendon.