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Devils ‘hope’ captain Salvador will play again this season

2012 Stanley Cup Final - Media Day

NEWARK, NJ - MAY 29: Bryce Salvador #24 of the New Jersey Devils speaks during Media Day for the 2012 Stanley Cup Final at Prudential Center on May 29, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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As is usually the case with the Devils, details are far and few between about the status of captain Bryce Salvador. We know he hasn’t played since Nov. 10 in Boston, missing the last 31 games with what the club’s calling a lower-body injury, but anything beyond that is something of a mystery.

Here’s more, from the Star-Ledger:

That is the extent of the information the team has released and, at this point, you have to wonder if Salvador will play again this season.

“We hope so,” Devils GM/coach Lamoriello told NJ Advance Media.

What is the nature of Salvador’s injury?

“It’s hard to explain,” Lamoriello suggested. “With the style he plays, until he gets clearance from the doctors, he cannot practice.”

Salvador has periodically let it be known through text messages that he is doing okay, but not yet skating. Beyond that, he has remained mum.

Salvador, 39, is in the last of a three-year deal worth $9.5 million, one that carries an average annual cap hit of $3.167M. Signed on the strength of his impressive ’12 Stanley Cup Final run -- 14 points in 24 games, averaging 22:25 TOI per -- Salvador’s deal has been a bust given how the past three years have gone. Despite being named the 10th captain in franchise history, Salvador has only appeared in 94 of New Jersey’s last 176 games and has been a virtual non-factor this season.

That said, nobody is completely ruling out a return.

“I think it’s not out of the realm,” Devils d-man Andy Greene told the Star-Ledger. “He’s working hard to get things figured out and fixed.”