Leafs appear to be making at least one roster change ahead of Friday's game against Wild

Per Sports Illustrated's David Alter, the Leafs may be sending defenseman Conor Timmins back up to the press box on Friday after an up-and-down performance in his two-game set against Chicago and Buffalo earlier this week. In related news, Rasmus Sandin was back at practice following 2 games off to deal with a minor injury.

It's been a rollercoaster of a season for the 24-year-old Timmins, who has been a pretty productive player for the Buds this year, racking up 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in just 21 games. He's been one of the better offensive threats for the Leafs from the back end and is locked in for 2 more seasons at a $1.1M AAV - a contract that he signed a couple of short weeks ago.

At times, however, Timmins has been pretty inconsistent. Whether it be taking ill-advised penalties, botching an assignment or failing to make a clean first pass, Timmins' mistakes are the type that young players are prone to - especially young defensemen. There is a strong belief that, as he racks up more experience, a lot of these details of his game will iron themselves out. For now, though, it's all just growing pains.

Sandin draws back in having produced 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists) in 51 games this season. He's been mostly relegated to third pair duty this season, despite the absence of Jake Muzzin for most of the year. He and fellow Swede Timothy Liljegren were both expected to take a step in their development this season and both have largely done just that.