It is a little over 48 hours before the National Hockey League Free Agency period begins and the Devils are yet to lock up and re-sign Captain Zach Parise to a new long-term deal. General Manager Lou Lamoriello and Zach Parise and his agents Wade Arnott and Don Meehan have confirmed that they began contract negotiations, but left it at that and did not say anything further. There is a growing sense that Parise will test the free agent market as he told the Newark Star Ledger and the North Jersey Record that his agents have done a great job preparing him for July 1st and that even if he reaches July 1st, the Devils are still going to be in the hunt.
Many Devils fans have a huge feeling of pessimism and a bit of optimism at the same time in terms of what happens with him and the team. Ironically, Parise is getting married on Sunday, so we might not know his decision until later in the evening or it might wait til Monday or Tuesday. Devils fans prefer he make his decision on Sunday obviously so they can move on. One way or another, there is no way of knowing how much Parise is asking for and maybe his agents will purposely until July 1 until deciding his market value. Sidney Crosby agreed to a 12 year/$104.4 million dollar deal with the Penguins yesterday with an annual cap hit of $8.7 Million Dollars. Now, that is way too much for Parise obviously, but it does sort off drive his price up a bit more. So, do not be surprised if a team offers him a $8 Million Dollar cap hit.
The Devils however might only be prepared to offer in the neighborhood of $6.8 Million to about $7.5 Million dollars in terms of a cap hit, but it might be severely front-loaded contract. Let's not forget what happened in Summer 2010, when the Devils went through a whole Summer with the Kovalchuk saga, so they have to be very careful in this negotiation. In Summer 2006, Patrik Elias also tested the market on July 1 along with Langenbrunner, but both ended up staying. Now, that is very likely to be the case with Zach Parise, but it will be a very tough process, much tougher than with Elias and Langenbrunner.
So, which teams might have interest in Parise besides the Devils? Well, it is very likely that Parise might join Crosby and Malkin with division rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who cleared space at the Draft by trading Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek. He has said, he has no plans to join the Devils most hated rival the NY Rangers, but that can all change in a NY Minute. Another hated division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers are also in on it, but indications are that Parise wants to sign out West if he leaves the Devils. I'd say the top 3 are the Det Red Wings, hometown Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. There are indications that Parise wants to team up with good friend Ryan Suter on some team. But anyhow, we shall see. Stay tuned for what could be them most tilting Summer in New Jersey Devils history.
Many Devils fans have a huge feeling of pessimism and a bit of optimism at the same time in terms of what happens with him and the team. Ironically, Parise is getting married on Sunday, so we might not know his decision until later in the evening or it might wait til Monday or Tuesday. Devils fans prefer he make his decision on Sunday obviously so they can move on. One way or another, there is no way of knowing how much Parise is asking for and maybe his agents will purposely until July 1 until deciding his market value. Sidney Crosby agreed to a 12 year/$104.4 million dollar deal with the Penguins yesterday with an annual cap hit of $8.7 Million Dollars. Now, that is way too much for Parise obviously, but it does sort off drive his price up a bit more. So, do not be surprised if a team offers him a $8 Million Dollar cap hit.
The Devils however might only be prepared to offer in the neighborhood of $6.8 Million to about $7.5 Million dollars in terms of a cap hit, but it might be severely front-loaded contract. Let's not forget what happened in Summer 2010, when the Devils went through a whole Summer with the Kovalchuk saga, so they have to be very careful in this negotiation. In Summer 2006, Patrik Elias also tested the market on July 1 along with Langenbrunner, but both ended up staying. Now, that is very likely to be the case with Zach Parise, but it will be a very tough process, much tougher than with Elias and Langenbrunner.
So, which teams might have interest in Parise besides the Devils? Well, it is very likely that Parise might join Crosby and Malkin with division rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who cleared space at the Draft by trading Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek. He has said, he has no plans to join the Devils most hated rival the NY Rangers, but that can all change in a NY Minute. Another hated division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers are also in on it, but indications are that Parise wants to sign out West if he leaves the Devils. I'd say the top 3 are the Det Red Wings, hometown Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. There are indications that Parise wants to team up with good friend Ryan Suter on some team. But anyhow, we shall see. Stay tuned for what could be them most tilting Summer in New Jersey Devils history.
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