On Wednesday afternoon, the NHL will be implementing a roster freeze due to the upcoming Olympics. While the Buffalo Sabres won't be able to make any trades after that deadline, they could have some roster decisions that need to be made.
One of those is deciding if there are any players that they should send down to Rochester. They could do this to give younger players more ice time or maybe help players get back into game shape who have been on injured reserve.
The rules are pretty detailed for who can be sent down to Rochester, and Puckpedia does a good job detailing them. For the Sabres, the key rule that they need to be aware of is: "Players can be sent down if they are waiver exempt, except for players that played in 16 of the team's 20 NHL games prior to the freeze, or have been on the NHL roster for 80 league days prior to Jan 21."
This means players like Noah Ostlund and Zach Metsa are ineligible to return to Rochester during this break. However, these are four players that the Sabres might send down.
Konsta Helenius
Konsta Helenius was called up in the middle of January and has appeared in seven games since then. He made almost an immediate impact as he had three points in the first period of the second NHL game of his career.
He has continued to play well, but not made the same impact as he has only one point in the past five games. There is no question that he will certainly have a future in the NHL, but it might make sense to send him down to Rochester now, as he likely will lose his spot after the Olympic break with a number of injured players expected to return.
Zac Jones
Another player who will probably be sent down to Rochester now and unlikely to be called back up after the Olympic break is defenseman Zac Jones. He was recalled after Jacob Bryson's injury, but has primarily been the seventh defenseman on the roster and has yet to take the ice during this recent stint.
With Jacob Bryson day-to-day and Conor Timmins potentially back after the Olympic break, he probably loses his spot on the Sabres' roster.
Conor Timmins
The next three players could return to Rochester during the Olympic break, but it will be something the players have to agree to. The reason is that they would go down as part of a conditioning loan as long as they remain on injured reserve once the Olympics roster freeze starts.
Conor Timmins suffered a broken leg on December 18th and was expected to miss six to eight weeks. Based on that timeline, he could be ready to return in the middle of February, and a few games with Rochester could help him be in game shape in time when the Sabres are ready to take the ice after the Olympics.
This is Timmins' first season with the Buffalo Sabres after they traded for him during the NHL Draft. He was one of the better defensemen in the early part of the season, with six assists and 70 blocked shots in 33 games.
Once he returns, he probably will settle in on that third pair with Michael Kesselring.
Josh Norris
Josh Norris, unfortunately, has found himself back on injured reserve with an upper-body injury that he suffered on January 14th. Recently, head coach Lindy Ruff did say he could return before the Olympic break, and if that does happen, then he wouldn't be eligible to go down to Rochester on a conditioning loan.
Certainly, the Sabres are keeping this in mind, and if that was something they wanted to do, they wouldn't have him return before then. They could view the next three games as a conditioning loan to get him back on the ice and then a few weeks to continue to rest.
While Norris hasn't been on the ice much, he has played in only 19 games; when he is on the ice, he makes a big impact. He has 17 points through 19 games and had at least one point in seven of his last nine games.
Justin Danforth
Justin Danforth signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres in the summer but has only been able to play four games after suffering a broken kneecap. At the end of January, Lindy Ruff provided an update that had Danforth beginning "preliminary" skating and could be back after the Olympic break.
For a player that has been out for a few months, it would be good to get him on the ice for a few games at the AHL level before getting on the ice for the Sabres.
*All injury updates courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres official website