Right off the bat I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this post, but remember that it is the whole point of blogging, to express one’s own opinions.
Beginning on July 1st I, as many others, was draining my iPhone battery by the second with the constant refreshing of Twitter while staying on top of Parise watch 2012. With every tweet that mentioned his name, my heart just about stopped, even though none of those tweets had any pertinent information until yesterday around about 12:30. Then it happened. As I laid on my bed, prolonging getting ready for July 4th shenanigans, it began to unveil: “Parise tells Detroit they’re out.” “Parise says no to Pittsburgh.” “Parise skips on Philadelphia.” and then the most devastating text, “WE GOT ‘EM” coming from the Minnesota Wild’s official twitter feed announcing they had in fact snagged both Parise and Suter. Since I decided to follow any hockey analyst I came across, it wasn’t just one slap in the face, it was 14 or 15 as they all reteweeted it. WE GOT ‘EM, WE GOT ‘EM, WE GOT ‘EM, over and over again. I felt like a kid who had just been told her puppy had died.
It sounds ridiculous, but when a franchise, and a fan base loses someone like Zach Parise, who had become such a vital role for a team, it’s like going through a mourning period. And so here are the 5 stages of grief as per the dealing of Zach Parise to the Wild:
1. Denial and Isolation: Yes, for the first couple of minutes I was in denial. I thought, “No way. Someone has their information wrong. He constantly said hwo NJ was a priority to him. He wouldn’t sign with Minnesota.” I immediately unfollowed all those recent hockey analyst additions and awaited the news from stricltly one of my trustworth Devils sources. Once confirmed by a source I deemed reliable, I just laid there for a minute. Of course text messages came in my friends throughout the day, and I chose to ignore them. I just didn’t want to talk about it, and got genuinely upset when people felt the need to inform me of this news, like they thought I hadn’t already known.
2. Anger: Hell yes I was angry. The Devils made this kid, (granted you can say that he made himself, however he was given a lot to work with), and now he was just up and leaving us? And to top it off he made us wait days to tell us this? While most in the hockey world say that he has been nothing but professional and respectful I must note that he mentioned several times that his priority was resiging with the NJ Devils. Is a guy allowed to change his mind? Sure. But don’t say things like that when you don’t know if you mean them yet. Don’t fill thousands of fans with false hope. Then, after the decision is made, to say it was between Minny & NJ, and if Suter had picked Detroit, then he would have resigned with the Devils, well that just doesn’t sit right with me. Thanks for letting us fans know that another player had an affect on you, and that utlimately we were the first place losers.
3. Barganing: While I haven’t looked up to the big man in Heaven to try and cut a deal (mostly since I know Parise somehow ixnaying this whole thing and coming back is literally impossible), I find myself trying to justify the move. I remind myself that it wasn’t a money thing, as he had a couple of offers that offered more money, on which he passed. So that makes him a good guy. I remind myself that Minnesota is his home, and that he has family there, so that makes him a good guy. I try to reason with myself, so I can maybe take some of the sting out.
4. Depression: Okay so I didn’t let this whole ordeal ruin my Independence Day celebration (I have the sunburn to prove it), I will say that every time this topic was mentioned, I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach and I became a little sad thinking about Zach in a Wild uniform, thinking about him not being there when the Devils raise the Eastern Conference Banner, and thinking about the hole he left behind. Whenver the topic was mentioned it was like the wind was taken out of my sails for a second.
5. Acceptance: As much as I loved Zach, there’s nothing I can do about him leaving. Fans being mad or upset is not going to bring him back. So it’s time to move on. Not for nothing, he did have a great season, but in the playoffs last season his +/- was -8. Adam Henrique’s was +12. We had 5 other players with 10 ore more points during the playoffs, too. Hey, bottom line, Zach was a great leader, and a lot of guys seemed to like him, but now it’s just time for someone in the organization to step up. Maybe it’s Kovy, who has really developed into a team player. Maybe it’s Salvador who has really proved himself over the year and can really take the younger guys under his wings. Who knows? We just have to wait and see.
I have seen fans go either way with this story. Some applaude him for wanting to be the hometown hero, and not necessarily just taking the most money. Some immediately hate him and can’t wait to boo him when he comes back to NJ in the fall. I sit somewhere in the middle. While I firmly believe he is a traitor, and it angers me that he let another player have any kind of influence in his decision, I can kind of understand why he made the decision he did. Will I cheer for him when the Wild comes to town? Probably not. Will I boo him when the Wild comes to town? Probably not. Will I be at the concession stand buying a beer when they announce that starting lineup, so I don’t have to hear his name? Probably.
Other notes: To see Brodeur back is amazing. I don’t really know what else to say other that he’s Marty. So sometimes he lets in flukey goals, and sometimes we hold our breath when he plays the puck, but dammit, he’s one of the best all time, and he’s still got it. I think getting to the Stanley Cup Finals at the age of 40 certainly proves that. Great to see Salvador back as well. He gets it done, there’s no doubt about that. And it’s nice to see Hedberg back as well, as he is a solid backup. While the Devils have seen a couple of players go over the years due to more money ::cough cough:: Gomez ::cough cough:: or the promises of a championship, it’s refreshing to know that some players remain loyal.