Not skating this morning are left wing Mike Cammalleri, center Stephen Gionta, right wing Damien Brunner and defenseman Adam Larsson.
A Devils spokesperson said Cammalleri is not here for “personal” reasons. Cammalleri told me after Thursday’s game in Toronto that his pregnant wife, Jennifer, was “about to pop.” The couple is expecting their second child.
The Devils say Larsson still has the flu and will miss his second game in a row. Gionta has been nursing a sore foot/leg but played through it Thursday. The Devils say he is “resting" this morning.
Brunner was placed on waivers Friday. and the Devils say he is "not here."
Players on waivers have skated and practiced in the past while awaiting their fates, but it is not unusual for them to be held out of practices as well.
If Brunner clears waivers at noon today, he would be eligible to be sent down to Albany of the AHL, but Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said Friday that the 28-year-old Swiss native could remain with the NHL team.
Per the collective bargaining agreement, if Brunner is assigned to the AHL, $1,575 million of his $2.5 million salary (prorated) will still count toward the team’s NHL salary cap. (Anything more than $925,000 in the AHL counts against the NHL salary cap.)
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