Leaving the New Jersey Devils seemed like an inevitability for a long time. The team was not good, so the veteran players would find bigger and (sometimes) better situations to thrive. After about a year, Devils fans would move on (except for Taylor Hall). In many cases, we wouldn’t even think about this player until he retires. This offseason, Devils fans might find themselves doing that more often than before.
Last offseason, quite a few significant Devils chose to hang up their skates. P.K. Subban and former captain Andy Greene were tops among them, but Brian Boyle, Kurtis Gabriel, and Andrew Hammond still wore the red and black proudly at one point (well, maybe not Andrew Hammond). This season, there’s a chance Devils fans will see more stars and fan favorites hanging up their skates for good. Unlike last year, when Subban left the Devils and immediately joined the ESPN booth, there aren’t many players that were on the roster last season that will call it quits this year.
Some of the names on this list might feel like a long shot, but others are pretty clearly at the end of their rope. It all just depends on if they want to call it quits for good. For the first one, the decision is between him and former GM Lou Lamoriello.
Zach Parise
We don’t have to get into it. Zach Parise was the Devils star from the time he joined the team in 2005 to when he left after a Stanley Cup Final run in 2012. It’s not often a team with that much talent starts to lose stars that often, but Parise chose to join the Minnesota Wild on Independence Day. There’s some semblance of irony there correlating free agency to independence, but we won’t go there.
Parise flamed out with the Wild, seeing his contract bought out with four seasons left on the deal. He signed with the New York Islanders, joining Lou Lamoriello for two seasons. Parise was decent in those seasons, scoring 36 goals total.
Now, Parise is waiting to make his decision. His teammates said they would give him space. The Islanders are keeping a spot open for him. However, it seems 50-50 at best he’s returning for another season. We don’t see Parise joining another team, although it’s fun to think about. He could be saying goodbye to hockey, and it’s interesting to see how Devils fans react to that.