Comments / New

Our first Parise clipping of the year (probably not the last)

The Hockey News: Can New Jersey keep Parise?

New Jersey Devils left winger Zach Parise remains a frequent subject of trade speculation […]. His comments to Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger will ensure his name remains in the rumor mill leading up to the […] Feb. 27 trade deadline. Parise admitted money would be a significant factor when contract negotiations with the Devils begin, but claimed the most important thing was “being competitive and having a chance to win the Stanley Cup.”

The Devils have made significant improvement over last season, where a horrific first half doomed their playoff hopes[…]. Despite the improvement, they’re no longer the dominant, Stanley Cup contenders they were a decade ago. Since Parise joined the Devils in 2005-06, they’ve only advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs twice, the last time in 2007.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello has yet to open contract talks with the Parise camp. That’s not surprising, as Lamoriello usually doesn’t get into negotiations with his free agents during the season. […] Parise is currently earning $6 million on a one-year contract and could be in line for a raise up to $8 million per season. Chere suggested “a five-year, $45-million deal would be in line with other players of his quality.”

Hanging over any potential of a contract extension are reports from earlier this season the Devils are close to bankruptcy, which would have serious implications upon Lamoriello’s negotiations with Parise. The scenario has led to speculation the Devils will trade Parise if he’s unsigned by the deadline, but as long as they remain in playoff contention they’ll hang onto him to make a push. In the past, Lamoriello has been unwilling to move pending UFAs, retaining Bobby Holik, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, even though he eventually lost them to free agency.

$8MM? Well, I don’t know about making him the highest paid King, but we could afford to do something like this (plus re-signing Mitchell or getting a Mitchell-esque D-Man via free agency), while keeping our cap hit around $62MM.

LW C RW
Parise Anze Kopitar Justin Williams
Tyler Toffoli Mike Richards Dustin Brown
Jordan Nolan Andrei Loktionov Oscar Moller/Linden Vey
Kyle Clifford Colin Fraser Trevor Lewis
Brad Richardson

Talking Points