New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise met with the media on Wednesday, two days after his team was defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final. Parise was asked plenty about his impending free agent status, and although he didn't sound too interested in talking about it, he did reiterate his desire to re-sign with the Devils.
"I like the people here," he said of his remaining a Devil. "I like the staff, my teammates. I like the area. There’s a lot of good things about this place."
The only other really noteworthy comment about free agency from Parise was that there is "no way" he would sign with the New York Rangers. There has been plenty of talk about him drawing interest from the Rangers, but Parise doesn't seem interested in going to a rival of the Devils.
While Parise very well may end up re-signing with the Devils, his comments about wanting to stay in New Jersey don't mean a whole lot right now. A captain isn't going to say anything too rash about leaving his team just days after being eliminated from the playoffs. Besides, once July 1 hits, anything goes and you can pretty much throw out all past comments, even the one about the Rangers.
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