Everybody wants Zach

May 27, 2012   Uncategorized     9 Comments

Has there been a hotter ticket than New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise on the free-agent stage in the last 10 years?

You can see how badly he wants to win, the pistons pumping as he hunts down a loose puck in the neutral zone and sends it into the open net to ensure the Game 5 win for the Devils at Madison Square Garden.

He’s the engine that drives the Devils, with due respect to the big wheel Ilya Kovalchuk, who is much better than I thought he’d ever be when they gave him that lifetime contract as a free agent.


But how can there be room for both players next season and beyond when the Devils ownership is an absolute mess and Parise can easily get $8 million US on the open market?

The Devils have no wiggle room because Elias ($6 million) and Dainius Zubrus ($3.4 million) aren’t unrestricted free agents until July 2013, the same with Marek Zidlicky on defence.

There are four scenarios: Parise stays in New Jersey; he goes to Detroit, where the Red Wings will sell him on playing with Pavel Datsyuk, he slides over to the New York Rangers; or Parise, who turns 28 in July, goes home to suit up for the Minnesota Wild.

The Rangers know going after Parise is a better deal than trading for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash and his $7.8-million salary in exchange for some young assets such as Chris Kreider, Tim Erixon, Derek Stepan or J.T. Miller, a 2011 first-round pick.

If I was handicapping, I’d say Parise winds up with the Red Wings, who have had pro scout Mark Howe watching him all season, with the Rangers No. 2, the Devils No. 3 and the Wild No. 4.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Hockey+World+combine+just+another+piece+puzzle/6685626/story.html


9 Responses to Everybody wants Zach

  1. Boston_Bruins says:
    May 27, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    That contract is going to be so inflated it's not even funny. I like Parise and think he's a great player but he's not a guy I'd be throwing $7 million+ at for multiple years, and it looks like that number might be $8 million+ after this playoff run.

  2. MystifoLeafs says:
    May 27, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    I agree. At the moment there is only one player I would be willing to throw 8 mill at and that is Malkin. I just only fear what would happen if Malkin hit FA. 9 mill+ easy.

  3. JoelLeafs says:
    May 28, 2012 at 2:46 am

    Fcuk, I'd give him 9+ and my first born. 

    Don't tell LN, but yeah, he's good and all, but not Crosby money good… 
  4. reinjosh says:
    May 28, 2012 at 10:22 am

    I don't know if I agree.

    Looking at him, he's a lock for 30 goals and pretty much a lock for 30 assists. That's pretty impressive in its own regards and speaks to the offensive ability he has. He's a threat to hit 40 goals and 80 plus points in a year. Not many teams wouldn't want that. 
    Then you look at his defensive game. He's good at it. Put that with his offensive ability and you have a pretty impressive player. Is he worth 7 or 8 million dollars? Probably not but 6 million? Yeah likely. 
    So to get him would you overpay? I'd say yes. I'd pay him 7 or 7.5 million to get him on my team. 
  5. blaze says:
    May 28, 2012 at 11:41 pm

    I'm with you except Ill go a step further. He is absolutely worth 7 mil a year. He be overpaid both cash and term but only term is concerning, a 7+ mil cap is not.

    For comparison purpose players with a 7M cap hit or higher. You decide if he belongs in mentioned in this group.

    Ovechkin
    Malkin
    Crosby
    E.Staal
    Nash
    Heatley
    Lecavalier
    Stamkos
    Spezza
    Gaborik
    Weber
    Chara
    Gomez
    Campbell
    Thornton
    Iginla
    Vanek
    Doughty

    Some players just under 7, 6.5m and up.

    Marleau
    Kopitar
    M.Koivu
    Lundqvist
    Backstrom
    Datsyuk
    Kovalchuk
    Bouwmeester
    Phaneuf
    Redden
    Semin
    Richards
    Kovalchuk
    Boyle
    Stastny
    Briere

    7 million a year is probably his actual value maybe 7.5 without even considering the bidding war.

    I would love to see the Leafs pick him up at 7.5m for 5y, but lets be honest thats not going to happen.

  6. LeafsNation4Ever says:
    May 29, 2012 at 10:06 am

    Gomez, Heatley, Campbell, Phaneuf, Redden.

    Hurp durp contractz. 
  7. blaze says:
    May 29, 2012 at 5:01 pm

    I don't think Phaneufs contract belongs in there at all. He's a number 1 defenseman and should be paid as such. Could his play be more consistent? Sure. He is still top defenseman in the league.

  8. thisgamewelose says:
    May 29, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    With Marty being 40 years old and possibly retiring, would it be wiser for Devils to get Luongo and possibly skip out on singing Parise? Devils really need to look into getting a new goaltender for the future…. of course, Marty might just play for the next few years, and considering his play of late, he'll be decent enough for them. 

  9. LeafsNation4Ever says:
    May 29, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    I think he's overpaid by 1.5m, he should be getting 5m a year, otherwise no problem with it. 

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