why I believe Grigorenko was sent down and the rationale behind it:
After playing in his 6th game, Grigorenko and the Sabres did use up a year of his ELC, however because he played in less than 23 games (He played in 22), he did not "accrue a season." So again, even though playing more than 5 games would burn the first year of Grigorenko's entry level contract, it would not immediately register 2013 as an "accrued year of service" for him when figuring out UFA eligibility. In the short season, an NHL player must be dressed for 23 games for it to count as an accrued year. What this means since he played less than 23 games this season, Grigorenko will still need 7 years of service before being eligible for unrestricted free agency.
So ya, we kinda screwed up this year with him. But I choose to see the positive side of this as:
A) We save a year of his free agency status.
B) While he didn't play as much as we all hoped or with players we would've liked, he did get some experience being a NHLer.
C) Hopefully this will light a fire under him and we see him control the Q. It's playoff time for them so Grigo will be thrown into the fire.