New Jersey Devils clean out their lockers after Stanley Cup Final loss 32 Gallery: New Jersey Devils clean out their lockers after Stanley Cup Final loss

Devils captain Zach Parise, an unrestricted free agent July 1, could not guarantee that he'd re-sign and remain with the team beyond this season.

But he did guarantee he would not sign with the Rangers.

"No," Parise said today after the Devils gathered at the Prudential Center for a team photo and cleaned out their lockers. "No way."

Parise was asked if he is curious to find out what kind of interest there will be from teams around the NHL.

“I don’t know. We’re 48 hours from a pretty devastating loss, so I haven’t had time really to sit back and think about that yet. That’s the truth. I’m not giving you lip service," he said. "I know what’s ahead and the decision-making. I guess we’ll have to get the conversations going pretty soon.”

He said there were no talks between his agents and general manager Lou Lamoriello during the season.

"Not that I know of," he said.

Parise admits it is difficult to picture himself playing for another team. And he isn't anxious to talk about upcoming negotiations.



"No. We're going to keep all that stuff between Lou and I, as we always have," Parise said. "I've said all along I love playing here. I've always appreciated everything that this organization has done for me. My feelings have never changed."

It is unlikley he will sign with the Devils before getting to July 1, but Parise did say it was possible.

“Everything is kind of happening so fast. I have a lot of things that I’ve kind of put on the back burner for a long time, a lot of things I need to take care of," he said. "As far as a time line, I don’t know. I’ll talk to my agents and get everything figured out.”

He is excited about the process.

"At one point I'm going to have to pay attention to it. Fortunately this season went long enough where I could put it away and not worry about it. I guess you have to face the music sooner or later," Parise said. "I'm excited about it because it's something as a player, especially you're first time, you don't get to do it very often.



"That being said, hopefully we can get things worked out here."

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Parise said he has no timeline for when he wants to sign, either with the Devils or another team like the Detroit Red Wings.

Will he push for quick negotiations?



"I don't know. I guess that's why you have agents, because you respect their advice. And with their experience they've done this before. This is one point where you have to listen to them and take their advice. It's my first time doing it, so I'll see what they say."

Could it be done before July 1?



"Yeah, absolutely. For sure," he said.



He insisted it will not simply be about money.



"It's everything, really. It's someplace you can win. I'm 27 but you have to start thinking of family. You have to be comfortable with the surroundings, with the coaches, with teammates. So there are a lot of things that come into play.



"I said after the game whether we had lost right away or lost in Game 6 of the finals my feelings weren't going to change towards this organization."