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Waiting On Gelinas

August 24, 2014, 2:25 PM ET [151 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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For the most part Lou Lamoriello's off-season work is done, but a couple things still remain on the to-do list.

Among them is getting defenseman Eric Gelinas signed to a contract extension. The 23-year-old is coming off a very successful campaign where he scored seven goals and tallied 29 points in 60 regular season games.

Like with all young blue liners there were some growing pains - a bad pinch here, a bad turnover there - but the Devils scored more goals than their opponents with him on the ice during full strength, and we all saw what he's capable of on the power play.

With Mark Fayne and Anton Volchenkov no longer in the picture, one would think the Devils would want to get a guy who will presumably fill the void left by their absences signed sooner than later. That doesn't seem to be the case, though, as several months into the off-season Gelinas remains unsigned.

The team has a full roster and almost $5 million in cap space so they certainly have enough money to get a deal done.

I think what we're seeing here is a guy who produced at a solid rate as a rookie is looking to be paid in millions, while the Devils likely want him on a short-term, Adam Larsson-type deal (one year, $900K) where he's forced to prove himself further before committing long-term.

Ultimately I think Gelinas will have to bite the bullet and sign for less than he feels he's worth, and be forced to play himself into a more lucrative deal.

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