Devils avoid arbitration with Zajac (4yrs 3.9/yr)

[squishyx]

From TG

"He's developed into a core player and getting him long-term I think is good for both him and his growth and for the organization," Lamoriello told me this morning.

When I asked Lamoriello if "long-term" means longer than two years," he replied simply, "it's long-term."

I think a back loaded 5 year deal with a cap hit just over 4m

[MantaRay]

I was really shocked that Zajac had elected to go to arbitration it didnt seem in his character.

Im very please that has been avoided and we have locked up a huge peice of this teams future.Its going to be really interesting to see what the terms are, personaly i thik it will be a 3 year deal with him making steadily more each year something like:

1st year: $3.75mill

2nd year: $4.5mill

3rd year: $5.0mill

Cap hit: $4.41 Million

WHAT??? If Lou did this I would say he has lost his mind. This far too much for a player that has only had one proven season.

[aylbert]

I was really shocked that Zajac had elected to go to arbitration it didnt seem in his character.

I missed this the first time. I don't think you know what salary arbitration is. He negotiated up until the arb deadline... if he doesn't elect, he could be forced to take his QO or sit out hoping Lou will budge. Salary arb is his bargaining chip to get a deal done before they are forced into a 1 or 2 yr deal where both sides will spit on each other, etc.

That said... Zajac isn't a marquee talent like Parise. He wasn't projected to be, nor is he. Without Parise, Zajac is a decent 2 way centerman --- no where near a 1st line centerman. Im hoping for a 3, 3.5mm cap hit at most. No where near 5mm. If he wants 5mm, he needs to keep his play up and improve, and take his UFA dollars in 2 years.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

I was really shocked that Zajac had elected to go to arbitration it didnt seem in his character.

Im very please that has been avoided and we have locked up a huge peice of this teams future.Its going to be really interesting to see what the terms are, personaly i thik it will be a 3 year deal with him making steadily more each year something like:

1st year: $3.75mill

2nd year: $4.5mill

3rd year: $5.0mill

Cap hit: $4.41 Million

You have Zajac making $4.5 mill and $5.0 mill in the second and third years of this deal based off one breakout year? Look at Zach Parise's contract...Zajac isn't making anywhere near $9.5 mill over the last two years of such a deal.

Couldn't agree more. Same folks on this board that loved him last year hated him the year before. Now they think a fair deal is 4.41 ave over 3. Freaking ridiculous. Hope he has a great year at a reasonable price.

Parise jumped on the deal Lou gave because he will make a sh!t load more in his career. Parise isn't a decent player....he is great. His next contract will be Elias money.

The first part of your comment might not have been aimed at me but i have always liked Zajac, and have always been willing to give him time to reach his potential.

As for the Second part, how is it that ridiculous??

The cap hit is based on a deal over 3 years, with the contract back loaded, he wouldn

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

I was really shocked that Zajac had elected to go to arbitration it didnt seem in his character.

I missed this the first time. I don't think you know what salary arbitration is. He negotiated up until the arb deadline... if he doesn't elect, he could be forced to take his QO or sit out hoping Lou will budge. Salary arb is his bargaining chip to get a deal done before they are forced into a 1 or 2 yr deal where both sides will spit on each other, etc.

That said... Zajac isn't a marquee talent like Parise. He wasn't projected to be, nor is he. Without Parise, Zajac is a decent 2 way centerman --- no where near a 1st line centerman. Im hoping for a 3, 3.5mm cap hit at most. No where near 5mm. If he wants 5mm, he needs to keep his play up and improve, and take his UFA dollars in 2 years.

I do know what salary arbitration is

I was supprised because I though Zajac would get a decent offer from Lou and there would be very little issue with sorting out terms much like Parise, i didnt think Zajac would be the sort of person to need to use a barginig chip to reach a fair agreement.

Like his agent said its an option avaliable to the player and they took it, which says to me the agent told Travis he could do better and would be able to force the issue with arbitration.

[king bun]

sweet now summer i saved

[devilsrule33]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

[Sharifijanov2099]

that's how we roll in NJ--height of our summer is an RFA re-signing. :-)

would still love to add Malhotra (i think Moore is a bust and didn't really do anything after he was traded last season), but most likely won't happen with the Zubrus contract being on the books (unless Vanderbeek is willing to eat it in the minors).

[NJDevs4978]

WTF is twitter even... I just SOOOO do not want to go there..... It's stalking and exhibitionism... I HATE that crap -- these boards are bad enough... blah!

thanks for allowing me the vent...

lol, I think you and me are probably the last two people on earth that haven't used Twitter and I don't think anyone ever heard of it till like nine months ago, it's amazing how fast it's become mainstream. It is at least useful for getting breaking news such as this though.

And yes I think all the people who were crying OMFG Zajac's going to arbitration, Lou's going to scar him and the world's going to end can take a chill pill now

[squishyx]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

Based on what? He never had the chance to play with anyone else. I bet Elias + Zajac + w/e would out produce any line Parise + 2 other Devils was on. Sure players need other players to produce, but do you think Zach gets his 90+ points with Madden or Zubrus up the middle?

[Triumph]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

that argument can be made for talented players all over the NHL. zajac played with parise because he was new jersey's best center and played like it all season. given that he took a large step forward last season and is still quite young, a cap hit of 4+ million is certainly acceptable if it eats one of zajac's UFA years, and if it doesn't, he can still expect something between 3.5 and 4 million.

[thelastonealive]

WTF is twitter even... I just SOOOO do not want to go there..... It's stalking and exhibitionism... I HATE that crap -- these boards are bad enough... blah!

thanks for allowing me the vent...

lol, I think you and me are probably the last two people on earth that haven't used Twitter and I don't think anyone ever heard of it till like nine months ago, it's amazing how fast it's become mainstream. It is at least useful for getting breaking news such as this though.

And yes I think all the people who were crying OMFG Zajac's going to arbitration, Lou's going to scar him and the world's going to end can take a chill pill now

I have to say, I love society's writing evolution. We went from LiveJournal, where we'd write these big long journal entries, to MySpace, where we'd blog occasionally, to Facebook, where we'd be down to 50-word status updates at most...now we're down to Twitter, 140 characters per update.

Next social networking site will just have people assigning a letter to their mood.

That said, 2 Man's jumped in the Twitter train, twitter.com/2MAblog. It's addicting.

[aylbert]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

Based on what? He never had the chance to play with anyone else. I bet Elias + Zajac + w/e would out produce any line Parise + 2 other Devils was on. Sure players need other players to produce, but do you think Zach gets his 90+ points with Madden or Zubrus up the middle?

Id take Parise+Zubrus over Elias+Zajac any day of the week, and twice on Sunday afternoon games

[devilsrule33]

Board doing weird things. Full reply on the next page.

Edited July 22, 2009 by devilsrule33

[MantaRay]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

that argument can be made for talented players all over the NHL. zajac played with parise because he was new jersey's best center and played like it all season. given that he took a large step forward last season and is still quite young, a cap hit of 4+ million is certainly acceptable if it eats one of zajac's UFA years, and if it doesn't, he can still expect something between 3.5 and 4 million.

Are you joking? the max Zajac should get is $3.5, but more likely $2.5-3.0. He is nowhere near a 1st line center in the NHL. He plays great with Parise who inflates his numbers. When Sutter took him off the Parise line he played himself onto the 4th line and then was a health scratch in Sutters first year.

I love the potential in Zajac, but its ludicrous to think Lou would give him $4 million for one proven season.

[squishyx]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

Based on what? He never had the chance to play with anyone else. I bet Elias + Zajac + w/e would out produce any line Parise + 2 other Devils was on. Sure players need other players to produce, but do you think Zach gets his 90+ points with Madden or Zubrus up the middle?

No...but Parise probably could still get 35 goals and 75 points playing with most players. He just has great hockey sense and can deflect anything into the net.

I don't get you, you seem to suggest that it be ok for Parise to drop about 20% in production if he was playing with any given player. But the idea of Zajac dropping 25% for the same situation would be unacceptable?

Id take Parise+Zubrus over Elias+Zajac any day of the week, and twice on Sunday afternoon games

If only Lemaire was willing to humor us by playing these lines all year

Edited July 22, 2009 by squishyx

[Sharifijanov2099]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

that argument can be made for talented players all over the NHL. zajac played with parise because he was new jersey's best center and played like it all season. given that he took a large step forward last season and is still quite young, a cap hit of 4+ million is certainly acceptable if it eats one of zajac's UFA years, and if it doesn't, he can still expect something between 3.5 and 4 million.

Are you joking? the max Zajac should get is $3.5, but more likely $2.5-3.0. He is nowhere near a 1st line center in the NHL. He plays great with Parise who inflates his numbers. When Sutter took him off the Parise line he played himself onto the 4th line and then was a health scratch in Sutters first year.

I love the potential in Zajac, but its ludicrous to think Lou would give him $4 million for one proven season.

He gave Zubrus 3.4 on a ludicrous long term deal for 1 proven season.

[aylbert]

I have to say, I love society's writing evolution. We went from LiveJournal, where we'd write these big long journal entries, to MySpace, where we'd blog occasionally, to Facebook, where we'd be down to 50-word status updates at most...now we're down to Twitter, 140 characters per update.

Next social networking site will just have people assigning a letter to their mood.

That said, 2 Man's jumped in the Twitter train, twitter.com/2MAblog. It's addicting.

You forgot to put Friendster in your list

To me... Friendster/Myspace/Facebook are social gathering site... Twitter is more of an instant, need to know community (as opposed to collecting my RSS streams, reading through articles, searching for info). I get a ton of finance news, current events and yes, celebrity status through twitter; which I never really did get through facebook, etc.

The 140 character limit is so you can get all the info on the SMS network. So when my finance network posts a job, I know instantly... or AAPL earnings report, I know right away. Sports news like the Mcnair murder, Zajac just signed... Or if Kevin Smith is working on an article for EW, I know.

Facebook etc, was more fan base and keep contacts (like LinkedIn)... twitter is the evolution of news feed... real, celebrity or local gossip, etc.

[devilsrule33]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

Based on what? He never had the chance to play with anyone else. I bet Elias + Zajac + w/e would out produce any line Parise + 2 other Devils was on. Sure players need other players to produce, but do you think Zach gets his 90+ points with Madden or Zubrus up the middle?

Na..but with his skill, hockey sense, and ability to deflect pucks...he could probably score 35 and get 75 points with other players. Did Zajac play with Parise his entire sophomore year?

And of course it isn't Zajac's fault he has only been paired with Parise, but I would like to see how effective he can be without Parise to know how much is attributed to playing with Parise and how much isn't before he makes 4+ a year. Zajac is a solid pro but there are question marks. Obviously what I have just mentioned...and what about his floudnering down the stretch the past two seasons. Seems like he needs to get stronger and more in shape to play a full 82 game season at such a high level.

I also don't think he should be making more than Parise or a guy like David Krejci.

[squishyx]

I'd be pissed if the cap hit touched $4 million. I mean he had a very nice year, but if he's paired with anyone but Parise...we're talking 40-45 points.

Based on what? He never had the chance to play with anyone else. I bet Elias + Zajac + w/e would out produce any line Parise + 2 other Devils was on. Sure players need other players to produce, but do you think Zach gets his 90+ points with Madden or Zubrus up the middle?

Na..but with his skill, hockey sense, and ability to deflect pucks...he could probably score 35 and get 75 points with other players. Did Zajac play with Parise his entire sophomore year?

And of course it isn't Zajac's fault he has only been paired with Parise, but I would like to see how effective he can be without Parise to know how much is attributed to playing with Parise and how much isn't before he makes 4+ a year. Zajac is a solid pro but there are question marks. Obviously what I have just mentioned...and what about his floudnering down the stretch the past two seasons. Seems like he needs to get stronger and more in shape to play a full 82 game season at such a high level.

I also don't think he should be making more than Parise or a guy like David Krejci.

We probably wont know for a while what Zajac does without Parise, Langs will be booted off the island long before Zach or Travis imo.

Also I don't think Zajac then Zach. I know us fans live in a very cap oriented world but the players themselves probably focus more on the actual amount per year. Parise is making 5million next year, even if Zajac is slightly higher then Zachs 3m this year there is no way he is getting that in his second.

[aylbert]

Sorry for the side track though...

Twitter is also a great media tool. Verizon Fios just introduced their live-steam twitter update... their GUI needs works, but its a great tool.

When my wife watches True Blood, she can she fans talking about the show as she watches on tv.

When I'm watching a Devils game, I'll be able to see live tweets about the Devs... it will be such a great interactive feature.

Edited July 22, 2009 by aylbert

[Triumph]

And of course it isn't Zajac's fault he has only been paired with Parise, but I would like to see how effective he can be without Parise to know how much is attributed to playing with Parise and how much isn't before he makes 4+ a year. Zajac is a solid pro but there are question marks. Obviously what I have just mentioned...and what about his floudnering down the stretch the past two seasons. Seems like he needs to get stronger and more in shape to play a full 82 game season at such a high level.

he hasn't only been paired with parise. in his 2nd year he was booted off that line when elias was made a center. zajac has gotten stronger but i agree that he does still need to get stronger still.

I also don't think he should be making more than Parise or a guy like David Krejci.

krejci's deal ends before he's a UFA, where he will no doubt make at least 4.5 per and probably closer to 5.5. so if zajac's deal is for 4/16, it's the same as krejci's 3/10.5 with a 5.5 final year. krejci also has even less NHL success than zajac does. also krejci was not arbitration-eligible this year, downgrading his worth significantly.

Edited July 22, 2009 by Triumph

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

He gave Zubrus 3.4 on a ludicrous long term deal for 1 proven season.

To be fair, it was two proven seasons for Zubrus:

'05-'06 71 GP, 23 G, 34 A, 57 PTS

'06-'07 79 GP, 24 G, 36 A, 60 PTS

I think this was the production Lou was hoping for/expecting when he signed him, even without Ovechkin. Unfortunately he hasn't come close to that here...just 38 and 40 points in his two seasons as a Devil. The biggest shock with Zubrus continues to be his ability to stay healthy. He'd never played a full season's worth of games, and as a Devil he's done it twice.

As for Parise/Zajac comparisons, regarding contracts, I think Lou (and just about everyone else) are projecting bigger things for Parise than they are for Zajac. Parise has shown he can be an impact player, a game-breaker. Zajac looks like he can become a solid-to-good NHLer, but I'd be surprised if he became a bona-fide star. I think even though Parise had had only the one breakout year before signing his deal, most people feel that Parise has the greater upside.

[MantaRay]

He gave Zubrus 3.4 on a ludicrous long term deal for 1 proven season.

Edited July 22, 2009 by MantaRay

[squishyx]

Chere is saying it's a 4 year deal. Thats what, buying one of his FA years? not bad.