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Devils sign Adam Mair while NHLPA investigates their roster problems

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Adam Mair seemed like the house guest that wouldn’t leave in New Jersey. After going through training camp on a professional tryout agreement and then not signing a deal with the Devils, Mair continued to stay close to the team on the off chance that a position would open up on the roster and he could be brought in. All it took was Pierre-Luc Letorneau-Leblond to be waived and sent down to AHL Albany to clear his salary from the Devils’ books to get Adam Mair in a Devils uniform officially, signing a one-year deal with the team.

Mair will get to make his debut with the Devils on Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, Mair’s (and teammate Henrik Tallinder) former team. With Mair in the lineup and Brian Rolston and Anton Volchenkov still believed they’ll be out of it, the Devils will go with 16 skaters against Buffalo. The problem here is that a team is supposed to suit up 18 skaters in a game and keep an active roster (with scratches) at a maximum of 23. The NHLPA doesn’t exactly enjoy the fact that the Devils are getting by with just 15 or 16 skaters (plus two goalies) because that means there are some fine members of the NHLPA that aren’t getting the chance to play and collect a check.

The NHLPA, after sticking up for the Devils to get Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract approved is now going to do some of their own investigating to see if the Devils are breaking the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement by going with less than the league regulated number of players.

“We are currently reviewing this matter to ensure that the CBA is complied with and that any potential violation of the agreement is remedied,” NHLPA director of Communications Jonathan Weatherdon told TSN.

The Players’ Association raised their concerns after the Devils dressed only 15 skaters for a matinee loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. New Jersey was playing the game short-handed due their close proximity to the NHL’s mandated $59.4 million salary cap, paired with injuries to Brian Rolston and Anton Volchenkov as well as a one-game suspension to Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond.


The Devils are getting a break here because of the sudden suspension to Leblond, but now that Mair is in the lineup, the team going without the minimum number of players thanks to injury doesn’t really buy them much time to get their house in order. Anton Volchenkov’s broken nose is the precise kind of small injury that doesn’t give the Devils a chance to get salary relief from LTIR whereas Brian Rolston might have a sports hernia.

Something will give here for the Devils whether they like it or not. It’s just a question of whether or not they can get it taken care of before things get ugly with the same player’s union that stood steadfastly by them just a couple months ago.