I don't normally do two blog posts per day, as those of you who read regularly would know, but there are a ton of Zach Parise rumors floating around right now so I figured it is my job to clear things up.

First and foremost, Parise's rights have not been traded anywhere. Any rumor suggesting otherwise is ridiculous. I also want to be very clear in saying Parise's rights will not be traded this weekend.

At this point, Lou Lamoriello and Parise's agent, Wade Arnott, have not sat down and had any meaningful negotiations regarding Parise signing a long-term extension with the New Jersey Devils. With that said, the two sides are expected to meet this Monday in hoping to make some headway towards a long-term extension. In the event negotiations go terribly and the two sides come to the conclusion no agreement can be reached, the Devils would then listen to any offers for Parise's rights and accept anything they can get. They likely wouldn't get much of anything, though, because if and when a conclusion is reached that an extension can't be worked out, which probably won't even happen, that said conclusion would only be reached a few days before free agency opens. In the event all this occurs, Parise would have no intention of being forced to sign with a certain franchise when he could just test the market a few days later.

I'd also like to note that just because no agreement has been reached as of now doesn't mean Parise won't re-sign. Contract negotiations haven't even started, as I said above, and there's a pretty good chance that Parise will indeed re-sign. That's both sides main goal, at least.

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