- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Zach Parise wouldn’t guarantee that he’d re-sign with the Devils, but when asked if he would play for the New York Rangers, Parise said “No.” When asked if he’s curious as to what kind of interest there would be for him if he becomes a UFA, Parise said:
“I don’t know. We’re 48 hours from a pretty devastating loss, so I haven’t had time really to sit back and think about that yet. That’s the truth. I’m not giving you lip service,” he said. “I know what’s ahead and the decision-making. I guess we’ll have to get the conversations going pretty soon.”
He added there have been no talks between GM Lou Lamoriello and his agent during the season. It’s unlikely that he re-signs before July 1st but said it’s possible.
“Everything is kind of happening so fast. I have a lot of things that I’ve kind of put on the back burner for a long time, a lot of things I need to take care of,” he said. “As far as a time line, I don’t know. I’ll talk to my agents and get everything figured out.”
On if he’ll push for quick negotiations, Parise said:
“I don’t know. I guess that’s why you have agents, because you respect their advice. And with their experience they’ve done this before. This is one point where you have to listen to them and take their advice. It’s my first time doing it, so I’ll see what they say.”
And if a deal could be completed by July 1st,
“Yeah, absolutely. For sure,” he said.
- Tom Gulitti of the Bergon Record: Re-signing Parise is “a priority.”
“We’ve said that from Day 1 and he will remain a priority,” Lamoriello said. “But, other than that, I don’t have anything else to add.”
Devils coach Peter DeBoer,
“I play no role in that other than I’ve stated all year the importance of him to our room, to our team, our coaching staff,” DeBoer said. “He knows our feelings about him. You have to take the approach in this business that you coach the players that you have. Obviously, you hope and you want it to work out, but there’s a lot of other factors that go into that stuff. We’ll coach who’s here in September, October when we get started.”
Martin Brodeur wants to have his future decided by July 1st,
“For the sake of the organization, they need to make decisions by July 1, plain and simple,” Brodeur said. “Regardless of what’s going to happen, I want to make it. If it’s me being here or me not playing or me doing anything else, July 1 is the date.”