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UFA spotlight -- Zach Parise

Zach Parise

All week leading up to Sunday, July 1, we’ll be profiling unrestricted free agents and speculating where they might end up.

Zach Parise (LW)

Age: 27

2011-12 cap hit: $6 million

The skinny: There’s no shortage of Parise suitors -- to be honest, all 30 teams would like to acquire the services of a guy that’s notched five 30-goal seasons since the lockout, captained his team to the Stanley Cup finals and is regarded as one of the league’s most relentless and tenacious players.

That said, some have emerged as more serious players than others.

The Minnesota Wild are definitely interested. Ex-Minny GM Lou Nanne went on a local radio station and said that, while having dinner with Wild owner Craig Leipold, he learned “no one is going to outbid the Wild” for Parise’s services and the money offered will “be so substantial” that Parise won’t turn it down. Also, Parise was born and raised in Minnesota and his family still lives there.

Pittsburgh also appears to be in the mix. GM Ray Shero flipped Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek at the draft and cleared a bunch of salary in the process -- important, as it was later revealed Shero wants to make a run at Parise and Ryan Suter. Parise would be an ideal winger for the Penguins, who have been trying to find an elite scoring guy to play alongside Sidney Crosby since forever. (After last season James Neal is now Evgeni Malkin’s official guy, in case you were wondering.)

The New Jersey Devils hold the unique distinction of, you know, having Parise under their employ, meaning there are six more days to try and convince him to stick in Newark. The Devils’ biggest problems are 1) their massive financial crisis and 2) the rumblings Parise isn’t all that keen on staying there. That said, he is the captain and the heart/soul of the team. That has to count for something....right?

Finally, there’s Detroit. GM Ken Holland is on record saying the Wings will be “very aggressive” on July 1, with most expecting them to go hard (hehe) after Parise. The allure for Parise would be the chance to be centered by either (or both of) Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg which, if you’re a winger, is pretty enticing.

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