Of course I'm talking about the most recent captain, Zach Parise, choosing to sign a very large free agent contract with Minnesota. Where do I begin?
Well, his side of the story is that he found that an old friend (Ryan Suter) was available to come out and play, and Minnesota, a place where Parise grew up, was willing to let them play in their yard...AND give them a shitload of money. Good for them that they got the same deal so that nobody was played as a "favorite".
Lamoriello said Devils offer was competitive. Was not about money. Parise wanted chance to go home/play with Suter.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossRecord) July 4, 2012
I think that just about says it all. Oh ya, and this...
Parise: "It was very hard. I told Lou I loved playing in New Jersey... It was very very hard to leave."
— Rich Chere (@Ledger_NJDevils) July 4, 2012
Parise was a free agent, well within his rights to go and make this move. Minnesota gave him (and I guess Suter too) front-loaded contracts and big signing bonuses. That part bothers me because it's a team owner/GM helping to contribute to the problem. Here are the numbers for Parise.
Parise's contract is front-loaded: $12M, 12M, 11M, 9M, 9M, 9M, 9M, 9M, 8M, 6M, 2M, 1M, 1M
— Rich Chere (@Ledger_NJDevils) July 4, 2012
So both Parise and Suter each get $25 million in signing bonuses: $10 M payable now, $10 M payable July 1, 2013 and $5 M on July 1, 2014
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 4, 2012
I know what you're thinking...that after Kovalchuk 2 years ago, deals like this should be banned. I've read that in the new CBA, they will be (of course, that CBA has yet to be agreed on). The NHL should go in there and review the deals (of course, if they are the same, then their verdict should be the same, and the fact that there's 2 of them shouldn't have anything to do with it). And even if the NHL did that (it may not make them look good doing that during CBA negotiations because it would piss off Don Fehr from the NHLPA), all it would mean is that Minnesota has to re-structure the deals, maybe give up some of the signing bonuses, a little more of a cap hit, and/or a fine and loss of draft picks. It wouldn't make the deals null-and-void to the point where Parise goes to his self-admitted second choice (yay, we're second). And I'm sure it wasn't about the money. Parise is a loyal guy (ya, right). Want to put that loyalty to the test? Suppose that the NHL does void the contracts, Minnesota has to come in with less money (because of the salary cap hit), and Parise has to actually think if he's going to come back to NJ. Ok, fat chance of that playing out. I don't know how fans would react to that either. Let's see on November 11 when the Wild come out to NJ.
The Devils lost Parise, so get over it. The team and fans both need to move on. I think the team and fans will be moving on in different ways. But this is tough.
Lou Lamoriello calls loss of Parise similar to loss of Scott Niedermayer in how tough it is.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossRecord) July 4, 2012
Now, is it me, or have the Devils never been able to hold the big name free agents? Neidermayer left. Rafalski left. Now Parise left. Yes, Elias and Brodeur stayed, and Kovy had just arrived here when he re-signed 2 years ago. Those losses hurt (see above tweet). Lou Lamoriello has been great breeding good hockey players in the Devils farm system, but how many of them have stayed here? Maybe it's time to lock up some of next year's unrestricted free agents...
Too early to worry about next years UFA crop?Devils have Clarkson, Zajac and Elias all scheduled for 2013 unrestricted free agency. Ouch.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 5, 2012
In the end, 13 year deals never work out in the end...except for the agents.
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