If were almost three weeks into the NHL regular season, it must be time to play which underage junior(s) will be sent back before playing his 10th game. By now, most everyone is familiar with the 9/10 game threshold for junior eligible players in the NHL: Play that 10th game and the first year of the players three-year entry-level contract gets burned or used up, even if the player is sent back to junior at any time after that. It varies from NHL team to team and player to player, but theres growing evidence to suggest NHL clubs are becoming a little to a lot less concerned about burning the first year of the contract. Most, if not all, of the GMs Ive spoken to on the subject are far more cognizant of the 39/40 game threshold than the 9/10 mark. If a player plays in his 40th game of the season, it counts as an accrued year of service counting towards the seven years required to become an unrestricted free agent. Put more in terms us laymen can understand: if your favourite teams underage junior plays in 40 games this season, the clock starts ticking on his seven-year countdown to unrestricted free agency. So a team may very well be prepared to burn that first year by allowing its underage junior to play 10 games but, depending on how the player is faring at mid-season, wont permit the player to get into that 40th game, secure in the knowledge the young prospect is eight, not seven, years away from UFA. But as I said, each situation is unique, depending upon the individual team/player circumstance. Take the Buffalo Sabres, for example. Theyre not going to be very good this season. Underage forward Sam Reinhart and underage defenceman Nikita Zadorov could be the best players on the Sabres this season and general manager Tim Murray could say he doesnt want to start running the meter on either guy, in terms of burning a contract year and/or accruing a years service towards UFA. The reality is theyre not the Sabres best players, not even close. So the likelihood of Reinhart and Zadorov being returned to junior this week is extremely high. Reinhart is scheduled to play in his eighth game tomorrow (against Toronto) and he has one assist and is playing an average of 10:24 in his first seven games. The Sabres still love his potential but they want him to get physically stronger. They would prefer to send him to Rochester of the AHL but the development agreement between the CHL and NHL means Reinhart must be either kept on the NHL roster or sent back to Kootenay for what would be his fourth WHL season. So, barring an unforeseen development, Reinhart isnt likely to see his 10th NHL game this season. As for Zadorov, he has played just one NHL game this season, logging icetime of 6:12. He showed up to Sabres training camp well above his playing weight. Whats clear is he is not, at this time, prepared to be an NHL defenceman. His situation, though, is a little trickier than Reinharts. The Sabres want Zadorov to return to the London Knights of the OHL, where he was playing when they drafted him in the first round in 2013. Zadorovs agent, though, has informed the Sabres his client would rather play in the KHL and there are likely millions of reasons why that makes sense for the kid. But the NHL-CHL agreement is clear: Zadorov is supposed to be sent back to the OHL if hes not on the Sabres roster. And in this instance, that also happens to be the wish of the NHL club. So when the Sabres get around to re-assigning Zadorov, and they will, well see if there are any issues on his final destination for this season. There are underage juniors who are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Reinhart and Zadorov, those who are guaranteed or virtually guaranteed to skate past the 9/10-game threshold. Washingtons Andre Burakovsky has been playing as the Capitals second-line centre, even though he played junior hockey as a winger. Hes been outstanding thus far, scoring two goals and seven points in eight games, averaging 13:52. For now, hes not going anywhere. Ditto for first overall 2014 draft pick Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers. He is averaging 21:54 in seven games, chipping in with two assists and playing like a seasoned pro. Tampas Jonathan Drouin got a late start on the season because of a broken thumb but hes scored one goal and three points in four games for the injury-riddled Lightning, averaging 18:33. Id be hard pressed to think how poorly Drouin would have to play in order for the Lightning to even think about sending him back to junior for the second consecutive year. Leon Draisaitl, celebrating his 19th birthday today, will play in his ninth game for the Edmonton Oilers tonight and while hes had some ups and downs so far -- one goal and three points in eight games, averaging 13:13 -- the Oilers want him to work on the pace of his game. He cant do that in Prince Albert of the WHL, so unless theres a major reversal on the Oilers part, Draisaitl will play 10 or more games in Edmonton. The same is likely true of the remaining underagers -- Ottawas Curtis Lazar (0-1-1 in 5 GP, 13:58), New York Ranger Anthony Duclair (0-4-4 in 6 GP, 14:03) and San Jose defenceman Mirco Mueller (0-1-1 in 7 GP, 18:09). All three have played enough, and well enough, to justify sticking past the nine-game mark but, that said, theyre not at their ninth game yet. One supposes if they were dreadful in their next two or three games, their clubs could opt to re-assign, but based on everything weve seen thus far, thats doubtful. The Sens, Rangers and Sharks all fancy themselves playoff contenders, so theyre not overly concerned about burning the first year of an entry-level deal. The tougher call for them, and the other teams, will be after the 39th game, when they have to make a conscious decision to start the free-agency countdown clock when they could choose to delay it for a year. As for Bo Horvat in Vancouver, hes currently on a conditioning stint in Utica of the AHL. When he comes back form Utica, Vancouver has lots of time to look at him before deciding on whether he stays or goes back to London. He has yet to play a game this season because of a shoulder injury. Some NHL clubs and player agents have duly noted that if a team keeps an underager past the 9/10 game threshold but sends him back to junior before 39/40, there may actually be a financial benefit to the club to do so. If a player goes back to junior in a burned first year of an entry-level deal, its difficult to earn the bonuses available to him. It also makes it more difficult for a player with a lesser body of entry-level work (two years instead of three) to hit a home run in the players second NHL contract, much more likely to have to take a lower-value bridge deal than a long-term, big dollar pact. At the end of the day, though, development of the young players is the first and foremost consideration for NHL GMs. If the kids are ready to play NHL minutes, and theyre contributing in some meaningful way to the teams cause, whatever it may be, theyll likely stay. If not, then its back to junior, but that doesnt mean the 9/10 game threshold is paramount. Nike Air Presto Off White Kaufen . The ninth-seeded Safarova doused Swede Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-3 on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. The Czech player was a finalist here two years ago and captured back-to-back doubles titles in 2012 and last year. Air Force 1 Billig Kaufen . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/air-presto-deutschland.html.J. - Several people have collapsed in an overcrowded New Jersey train station while waiting in long lines to get to the Super Bowl. Günstige Nike Air Force 1 . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Nike Presto Off White Fake Kaufen . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions.MADRID, Spain -- Real Madrid overcame Sergio Ramos early sending off and Cristiano Ronaldos absence to seal its spot in the Champions League last 16 with a 4-1 hammering of Galatasaray on Wednesday. Ramos had the hosts in trouble after just 26 minutes after sending Umut Bulut to the ground. Despite the setback Madrid rallied, with Gareth Bale scoring with an exquisite free kick from 30 mmetres in the 37th minute.dddddddddddd Bulut equalized right away but the Turkish club wilted in the second half as Alvaro Arbeloa, Angel Di Maria, and Isco all scored to complete an emphatic win at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Madrid has 13 points and will finish top of Group B. Galatasaray has four points and must beat Juventus in the last round of games to advance. ' ' '