It's unofficially official now, Zach Parise will hit the open market. How much this affects the New York Rangers -- aside from the New Jersey Devils being weakened if he leaves -- remains to be seem, although if Larry Brooks can be believed the Rangers organization "doesn't expect to sign Parise." In fact, the Rangers won't even be pitching Parise unless he calls and tells the team that New York is back in the running.

Here are some other bits of free agent news:

• Both Shane Doan and Ryan Suter don't expect to find new homes until next week.
• Rumors are swirling that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be offering contracts to both Parise and Suter, although they won't be offering front-loaded contracts with big bonuses, so for now it seems like Pittsburgh isn't the favorite destination. Although, as always, things can change in an instant.
• The Rangers' Plan A apparently still seems to be to trade for either Rick Nash or Bobby Ryan.