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Gelinas won’t attend Devils camp without a contract, but Carter will

Montreal Canadiens v New Jersey Devils

Montreal Canadiens v New Jersey Devils

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Gilles Lupien, the agent for RFA defenseman Eric Gelinas, said there’s “no chance” his client will attend New Jersey’s training camp without a new deal.

Veteran forward Ryan Carter is willing to take the risk, though.

Gelinas, coming off a solid rookie campaign in which he scored 29 points in 60 games, is at loggerheads with the Devils about salary -- something Lupien alluded to with these colorful remarks that highlight just how much fun it is to negotiate with New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello.

From NorthJersey.com:

“It’s all up to Lou. Lou is the boss. We’re waiting to see what Lou wants to do.

“It’s always money. It’s always money and [Lamoriello] loves to play with the power. That’s what everybody knows.

“I hope [Lou’s] going to give me a call before training camp. He knows what we think. What can we do? It’s only the way people work. That’s the way Lou is working and good. I told him that. ‘That’s O.K.’ You don’t always agree on the way you work.”

While Lupien wouldn’t comment on the specifics of Gelinas’ ask, the 23-year-old rearguard is clearly gunning for a raise on the $660,000 he made annually on his entry-level deal. Gelinas could have some leverage, too, given the Devils let Mark Fayne walk in free agency and bought out Anton Volchenkov this summer.

As for Carter, he’s a UFA and will go to camp without a professional tryout contract. The 31-year-old has had some good success in New Jersey -- emerging as a valuable contributor during the ’12 Cup run, scoring a career-high 15 points in 44 games during the ’13 season -- and, per Lamoriello, would be insured over the course of training camp, thereby mitigating some risk.

Finally, Lamoriello confirmed reports that veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle would be going to camp on a PTO. Kaberle will join another longtime NHLer, Scott Gomez, in New Jersey, and Lamoriello said it’s possible one or two more PTOs could be signed in the coming days.