New Jersey Devils retains its left winger Zach Parise through arbitration –NHL Offseason Updates
In an attempt to retain Zach Parise until a deal was negotiated and preventing him from becoming a free agent on the first of July as the free agency starts, New Jersey Devils has filed for arbitration with Parise on Friday, 17th July.
Throughout the National Hockey League (NHL), teams are making moves and playing their cards to negotiate and deal with players who have expiring contracts and thus will become unrestricted free agents, early next month.
Those teams who have not been able to come up with a deal between them and the players will either file for arbitration like New Jersey or let the players go to another team.
Devils’ president and general manager, Lou Lamoriello, said in a statement that Devils took this step to protect its rights and is working on negotiating a long-term contract with the 26-year-old left winger.
"He knows that", Lamoriello said when asked if Parise is confident with the situation or not and if he wishes to remain in the team. "Everything has been amicable as far as the talks. We will continue to work toward a long-term agreement".
Parise was drafted in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft as the 17th overall pick in the first round by New Jersey Devils and had played six seasons with his New Jersey till now.
In his past seasons, except the preceding 2010-2011 season, Parise has been one of Devils’ most efficient players and has missed only three games in five seasons.
He was restricted to play only 13 games in the 2010-2011 season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, for which he had to undergo a surgery in November 2010.
The American native from Minneapolis, Minnesota, remained as Devils’ go-to player and led New Jersey to many victories throughout his career.
The high shooter boasts a record of playing 420 games in which he scored 163 goals and picked up 178 assists for a total of 341 points with a plus-minus rating of 62.
His injury certainly made an impact on New Jersey Devils who missed the playoffs for the first time in over 15 years this season.
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