Beyond merely making room to activate Anton Volchenkov (“total body soreness”) from the IR, the New Jersey Devils seemed to have sent Eric Gelinas a message by demoting him to the AHL.
At least, that’s how the 22-year-old defenseman is taking it, as he told The Bergen Record.
“I don’t think I was playing my best hockey lately and I guess there’s only one person to blame and that’s me,” Gelinas said.
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello didn’t sound nearly as negative about Gelinas’ struggles.
“He’s just going through some growing pains right now,” Lamoriello said. “But nothing negative. We feel it’s the best thing for him right now. It could be short-term. It just depends upon how he handles it.”
It sounds like it all comes down to Gelinas making the best of the situation. As he notes, he hopes that he’ll stick with the team the next time he gets called up, whenever that might be.
The Devils face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
