Everybody wants Zach
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.
9 Responses to Everybody wants Zach
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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.
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.
Fcuk, I'd give him 9+ and my first born.
I don't know if I agree.
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.
Gomez, Heatley, Campbell, Phaneuf, Redden.
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.
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.
I think he's overpaid by 1.5m, he should be getting 5m a year, otherwise no problem with it.