These are dark Devils clouds with a silver lining. Deadline acquisition Jason Wiemer may miss the entire season while defenseman Richard Matvichuk may not be ready for the October opener, each from off-season surgery.
Wiemer, 30, is expected to be sidelined at least six months, probably more, after major knee reconstruction, while Matvichuk, 33, has not progressed as quickly as the Devils had hoped from repair to a herniated disc in his back, The Post has learned.
The unavailability of Wiemer and probably Matvichuk will likely allow Lou Lamoriello to place each on the Long-Term Injury list, and effectively remove their 950G and $1.368 million salaries from his salary cap assessment. Wiemer was acquired from Calgary March 9 for a fourth-rounder, and played 16 of 17 regular season games and 8 of 9 in the playoffs, including the final Game 5 loss to Carolina.
Lamoriello is believed to already be at the $44 million cap, and although he is permitted a 10 percent summertime overage, is behind the 8-ball since he must still sign 48-goal scorer Brian Gionta and defensemen Paul Martin and David Hale.
A restricted free agent, Gionta elected against salary arbitration. He could become unrestricted after this season.
“Brian didn’t file for arbitration because he wants to be part of the Devils’ organization,” agent Steve Bartlett said. “He is hoping for a long-term contract to remain with New Jersey rather than the one-year award an arbitrator would have given.”
Gionta may be seeking a deal with an average salary around $3.5 million, and considering that Gionta set the Devils’ goal-scoring record last season, he might be a bargain at that price.
Both sides agreed that negotiations proceed in good faith. Lamoriello says that if Gionta is unsigned, he still will be permitted to attend training camp next month.
On the other hand, with Lamoriello strapped cap-wise, some rival could swoop in and sign Gionta to a Group 2 offer sheet, presumably at $3.99 million per season, and Lamoriello would be hard-pressed to match the bid and keep Gionta. If Lamoriello couldn’t match, the Devils would receive a first-, a second- and a third-round pick from a successful offerer. Bartlett indicated that Gionta would prefer to continue negotiations with the Devils than go that route.
The Devils will likely need to clear at least $6 million in cap space to accommodate Gionta, Martin, Hale and a backup goalie. Unavailability of Wiemer and Matvichuk could free some $2.3 million towards that target.
