New Jersey Devils sign one-year contract with forward Zach Parise –NHL offseason Update
After a long and anxious by New Jersey Devils fans, they can now finally take a sigh of relief as the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise announced signing the high-scoring forward to a one-year contract worth a reported $6 million US, on Friday night,
July 29.
Unlike other situations where players file for salary arbitration hearings against their teams, Devils had filed for the hearing against Parise and were looking for a multi-year deal with the player, but ultimately settled for a single year contract. The
deal means that Parise is set to become an unrestricted free agent on the 1st of July, 2012.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement comes into force in this situation, which means that Parise will not be able to sign another deal with New Jersey until the start of the New Year, but it is highly expected that they will work one out until then.
New Jersey Devils general manager, Lou Lamoriello, says he thinks it happened for the best and now they have enough time on their hands to work something out.
"Once you go to arbitration, you can only get a one-year situation in this case", Lamoriello said about the contract signing. "So, really what we have done is avoid arbitration by settling on one year with the understanding and intent to take whatever time
is necessary to get a long-term deal".
Parise, a 27-year-old left winger from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, was drafted with New Jersey’s 17th number pick during round-one of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He has remained with the franchise since and will be entering his seventh
season with them in October.
The 2008-2009 season was Parise’s best season as he contributed 94 points (45 goals, 49 assists) in a full 82-game performance and managed to record an impressive plus-minus rating of 30.
Last season, the 5-foot-11, 195lbs forward was limited to only 13 games due to a serious knee injury which almost was deemed as career ending at one time. New Jersey lagged behind during the regular season and missed their first playoffs entry since 1996.
With him healthy and back available to play, New Jersey expects a much better record and a bigger impact on the postseason.
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