So, the new Jersey Devils avoid salary arbitration with their best player, Zach Parise. The talented winger signed for one year and $6 million on Friday afternoon. The deal works well for both parties in that Parise gets a bump in pay, and thus, avoids the tense, and at times emotional eye ball to eye ball confrontation with Lou Lamoriello. Parise earned $5 million in 10/11. The team locks up its top scorer and now have time to evaluate the player to determine whether or not they want to extend Parise to a long term deal moving forward.

Had the arb hearing occurred, its likely thaat the ruling would have gone in favour of Parise to a one year ruling that would likely have been kinder to the player than the team, perhaps as high at $6.5-$7 million for one season.


Parise is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him from late October until April.

I'll be keeping a close eye on Parise's situation this season. He'll become a UFA on July 1, 2012. His $6 million salary will make him attractive next Summer. This one-deal leaves the door open on Parise's future. Parise's agent and the Devils were not successful in agreeing on a long term contract to keep Parise in Newark. The player cannot sign a long term contract until January 2012. The two sides will continue to talk between now and then.

Sources tell me that the Sabres have a strong interest in the scoring machine, and will be front and centre in their pursuit of Parise next Summer.


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I'm told that a couple of floor teams have called the Sabres asking about the availability of their eighth D man, Shaone Morrisonn.


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Ron Rolston will have an over flowing cornucopia of young talent (Kassian, Foligno, Tropp Schiestel, Brennan, etc.) at his disposal for his first ever season in AHL Rochester.

I wonder how he'll weave journeyman Al Kotalik into the fabric of that team without disrupting the development of the uber talented kids?

Rolston's forte is his abilility to communicate while teaching and mentoring his young charges in the many nuances of pro hockey.

Can Rolston teach an old dog like Kotalik new tricks?


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