Does the hiring of DeBoer as coach bode well for Parise extension?

There is no question that fans want to see or already would have loved to see Zach Parise signed to a multi-year deal and have the "C" taped on his jersey. But that is not how business works in the NHL and a good example is the Steven Stamkos situation in Tampa. Many reporters around the NHL thought Stamkos could be traded, because he was demanding so much. Yes, he was, but Tampa locked him up for 5 years at $37.5 million dollars, with a $7.5 million dollar cap hit. Stamkos was not headed to arbitration though unlike Parise.

Now the question is, Will the surprise hiring of Peter DeBoer as Head Coach sell Parise on an extension? In many cases I think Yes, because DeBoer represents a little of what Brent Sutter started when he was Devils coach from 2007-2009. Though Parise is not familiar with DeBoer, he did tell Tom Gulitti of the North Jersey Record that DeBoer's Panthers were one of the toughest teams to play against. Parise also thrived under Sutter and is expected to do so under DeBoer if he can stay healthy.

DeBoer was an assistant coach under Brent Sutter for Team Canada in the World Juniors. But when Sutter took the leap to the NHL, DeBoer became the most sough after coach from Junior and thus took the job with Florida in 2008. So, I think it should be a good sell for Parise.

But back to the business end, whenever a player goes to arbitration or a team elects to take him there, it prevents him from fielding offer sheets from other teams. I believe that the Devils would have matched any offer sheet signed by Parise, but it would have questioned his loyalty. Usually if players go to arbitration and want to avoid it, deals get signed at the wire, so look for a contract to be signed sometime around August 1st or 2nd. I believe something will get done.