New Jersey Devils fans were devastated on July 4, 2012, when captain Zach Parise left to play for the Minnesota Wild. In the end, the Devils might have lucked out.
It is one of those times as a fan where you always remember where you are. I will always remember going on a cross-state road trip to Pittsburgh listening to Adam Henrique scoring on Henrik Lundqvist to send the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals. I won’t forget watching from my father’s bedroom Scott Stevens crushing Paul Kariya in the 2003 Cup Finals. Can you ever forget the time Patrik Elias sent a puck across the ice, that Jason Arnott pounded in to win the Cup in 2000?
Unfortunately, not all of our unforgettable moments are good ones.
I remember what I was doing on July 4th, 2012. I was working a pizza delivery job, and after waiting three days I was forced to work. Feverishly refreshing Twitter, and checking the accounts of Bob McKenzie and Tom Gulitti, all I wanted to know was what would happen to Zach Parise. His decision was expected that day, so at every red light I checked as many accounts as possible (not recommended because New Jersey cops WILL pull you over, and they should because it is dangerous).
Then it happened.
BREAKING: WE GOT 'EM! Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are coming to the #mnwild! More to come. After you exhale, RT to #WelcomeZachAndRyan
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 4, 2012
Parise went home, signing with the Minnesota Wild for 13 years. It’s literally a lifetime contract, at least his hockey lifetime.
Back then, literally every Devils fan would sign him to that contract. He was the star of the team that was coming off a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. You have to try to run that back if you can.
We all know what happened after that. The Devils have missed the playoffs in every season since. Ilya Kovalchuk up and retired the next season. Martin Brodeur eventually retired. Patrik Elias did too. Lou Lamoriello moved on after more than two dozen years as the GM. Parise started a change, that for a while looked like it was for the worse.
Now, five years later, were the Devils actually better off losing out on Parise?
Think about this, Parise has never scored more than the 69 points in Minnesota that he scored in that final season in New Jersey. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been good, but he hasn’t been the generational talent the Wild thought was coming.
Since he joined, the Wild have made the playoffs every single season. That’s great! However, they haven’t made it past the second round.
Most of that isn’t Parise’s fault. He has 28 points in 33 playoff games with the Wild. The rest of the team is where they faltered.
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Things have changed dramatically this season. The Wild have still been winning, but Parise has done nothing. He’s still recovering from a major back injury, but still he has just eight points on the year. Also, that back injury isn’t something that heals itself in an offseason.
Parise still has seven years left on his contract. His cap hit is more than $7.5 million every season. He’s signed through his age 40 season. Say he fights through pain over the next four years, where he’s still making major money, but retires when his salary hits $2 million on 2022-23, then the Wild would be stuck with around a $6 million recapture penalty each year. Ouch.
The most interesting part is how this affects the Devils. If Parise stays in New Jersey, do the Devils keep Kovalchuk in the NHL? Even if they don’t, it seems pretty clear Taylor Hall would be in a different jersey. Parise would elevate them just enough to be relevant in the playoff race, but the team would never bottom out. That means Nico Hischier could be a Vancouver Canuck.
Next: Devils: How Much Will It Take To Re-Sign Michael Grabner?
Looking at this five years later, it looks like the Devils got lucky that Zach Parise wanted to go home. This is an unmovable contract that hurts them for years to come. Instead, the Devils are flying high with Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall and a bunch of kids. I think things worked out in the Devils favor over the long haul, even if the journey here was extremely rough.