First Comes Oates, Next Comes Parise?

Parise, above, played for Oates in New Jersey. (Photo: abcnewsradioonline.com)

Yesterday, the Washington Capitals signed Adam Oates as their new head coach. Oates was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils for the past three seasons.

With Alexander Semin most likely on his way out, the Capitals will be needing to sign a quality goal scorer to fill his void. Adam Oates just happens to know a guy who could do just the thing: Zach Parise.

As of right now, only two teams are believed to fighting for the rights to Zach Parise. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild are both believed to be trying to sign Parise.

The Capitals, however, have an ace in the hole that just might allow them to sign Zach Parise.

Parise was coached by Oates while Oates coached for the New Jersey Devils. They created quite the relationship and now that Oates has come to Washington, Parise may want to come with him.

Parise would certainly jump right onto the first line with the likes of Ovechkin. He would also fill in well for Alexander Semin who, like stated before, most likely will not be back next season.

Oates has barely gotten his feet wet in the head coaching ranks. Right now, the Capitals haven't made a move towards signing Parise. Still, the point remains that Parise is available and Oates has a good relationship with him.

I'm not trying to get everyone's hopes up, but, the possibility of Zach Parise becoming a Washington Capital is very real. Only time will tell, however, as the newest Capitals head coach begins to put his plan for success into action.