Zach Parise Admits Dealing With His Contract Situation Has “Been Hard”
New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise made a startling admission while on “NHL Live” with Ken Daneyko and Bill Pidto on Monday. Parise admitted for the first time that his contract situation may actually be starting to bother him.
The 26 year-old is set to become an unrestricted free-agent on July 1st and as of now Parise and the Devils have yet to open any discussions. “It’s harder than I thought it would be,” said Parise when asked about the situation. The Devils have had exclusive negotiating right with Parise since January 1st, but have been quiet thus far.
New Jersey must decide if they plan on resigning their young star or trade him. Otherwise, they risk losing him for nothing. A scenario that would undoubtedly become a public relations nightmare, not to mention the negative effect the rampant speculation will have on Parise as the trade deadline and the playoffs approach.
“You hear things, you read things. I don’t think it will quiet down anytime soon,” he said. Until a deal is reached or a trade is finalized, quiet is not an option.
Unfortunately, for the Devils and their fans most of the speculation has been leaning towards their captain’s departure. The clubs fractured ownership has led to the much publicized debt issues and loan defaults which only further spawn rumor after rumor.
Thus far, his play on the ice doesn’t seem to indicate that anything is bothering him. Parise has 40 points (15g 25a) through New Jersey’s first 48 games and appears to be fully recovered from the knee surgery that put him on the shelf for most of the 2010-11 season. There would be no shortage of interest in the gifted forward, but it’s still in the Devils best interest to lock him up long term.
The interview was all doom and gloom. Parise praised the addition of Alex Ponikarovsky. He said the big winger is a “good player” and called the trade “underrated.”
The Devils captain also spoke positively of head coach Pete Deboer, saying “He has the best attention to detail I think I’ve ever seen in a coach.” That’s good news for the Devils considering it’s believed that coaching stability is on Parise’s list of determining factors for resigning.
The fact of the matter is that losing Parise will hurt the organization in so many ways. There is no other player in the league that would mean as much to the franchise as the one they selected 17th overall in the 2003 draft. I’m still hopeful that he remains in New Jersey, but the longer this drags on the more my confidence wavers.
I want to hear from you! Is there anybody out there that could replace Zach?
Follow me on twitter! @StevePalumboNHL
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