Printable View
That is assuming it makes it to arbitration. The Devils and Parise can still come to an agreement before the arbitration hearing. The Devils filed for arbitration so noone would try to poach him with an offer sheet.Quote:
Originally Posted by schaggydog
As far as I know that's the gist...but the problem is arbitration tends to cause bad feelings. The player says why he deserves $$$ and the team basically counters by giving reasons why the player doesn't. The player usually comes out with a chip on their shoulder and with Zach, who I am pretty sure harbors some resentments already, that may be the final straw. At this point, I would rather get something for him than overpay. I still think people are overrating his worth.
Exactly.. They're just doing it so no one can offer sheet him if they can't work out a deal before the deadline. It's a precaution.
Parise earned $5M last season, since this is a club elected arbitration the minimum the player can earn is 85% of the previous year salary or $4.25M. I wonder if that's the figure that Lou is gonna seek in arbitration? Would Parise's camp ask for close to $6-7M? If argued successfully this could provide the Devils some cap relief for the one-year deal that would result from the hearing. It would buy them some time.
Fast forward one year and if the owners have their way the new CBA could potentially raise the UFA age to 29. With Rolston, White, Salvador, and Broudeur off the books that would give Lamoriello the cap flexibility and another go at Parise without him being eligible for free agency and/or able to act on any hurt feelings. If that's the plan, that would be very calculated and pretty diabolic of Lou. I wouldn't put it past him.
Can't wait to see how this is gonna play out.
NHL Draft 2011: Zach Parise joins Devils at draft table | NJ.com
This is a good sign...for me.
HockeyBuzz.com - Todd Cordell - Devils, Parise likely heading to arbitration August 3rd
This is a real good take
Quote:
Now I know this is news that no Devils fan would like to hear, but the nightmare of not having Parise a Devil long-term appears to be becoming somewhat of a reality.
With that said, Parise has said publicly countless times that he would like to stay in New Jersey long-term - heck, he said he is open to spending his whole career as a member of the Devils.
So Parise has said he wants to stay, and Lou Lamoriello has said he wants him locked up long-term.
What is the problem then? Is Parise lying? Is Lamoriello not as interested in signing Parise long-term as he has stated?
I don't have answers to those questions.
The only thing I can see that could even be remotely close to an obstacle to getting Parise signed long-term is the Devils don't currently have enough cap space to give Parise the money he wants (likely $6.5M per year).
The Devils currently have about $5.5 in cap space, so Lamoriello will need to clear a bit of salary.
Is Lamoriello going to let Parise walk after this season over $1M? I have a tough time believing that.
All I can say is Parise and Lamoriello have just over a week to figure things out, because if Parise is not signed to a multi-year contract before his arbitration hearing, I would say there is at least a 50 percent chance he won't be in a Devils uniform come October of 2012.
One last note: a source told me late yesterday evening that "I think there's a good chance they will avoid the hearing only because neither side wants to go to the hearing."
Only time will tell what happens, but this situation certainly just got more interesting.
