Report: Veteran Winger Could Join Avalanche Soon

According to Minnesota Wild insider and The Athletic writer Michael Russo, the Colorado Avalanche may soon be adding a veteran winger to their roster.

Zach Parise, who has not played a game in the NHL this season, could sign with the Avalanche very soon according to Russo. The 39 year old winger had spent the previous two seasons with the New York Islanders, and scored 21 goals last year for them.

On the Talk North podcast, Russo spilled the beans that Parise is close to a decision on where he wants to play. If anyone would know about Parise’s plans, it would be the guy who covered him for years in Minnesota.

“Zach Parise is close to signing, by the way,” Russo said. “I think it’s going to happen in the next couple of days. My guess is that he’ll skate with them through the end of the All-Star break, then he’ll be ready to debut. I think Colorado is the team he’s going to, by the way.”

Russo also mentioned Boston as a possible landing spot.

It would be an interesting signing for Colorado, and it would make some sense. The team signed Tomas Tatar in September, but it didn’t work out, and they moved on from him in early December. They have yet to replace him with anyone, and with Valeri Nichushkin entering the player assistance program, there is an immediate need on the wing.

I can’t imagine Parise would cost much to sign. The last two seasons, he played for a league minimum salary with performance bonuses. I’d expect something similar if he did sign with the Avalanche. They don’t exactly have the cap space for much more than that.

Tatar struggled to keep up in Colorado’s system, so would the 39 year old Parise have the same issues? That’s hard to say, especially since no one has seen him play a game since April. I’m sure Avalanche fans remember Parise all too well from his days with the Wild, but that was a much younger Parise. He’s always been a guy who always scored goals around the net, and you can never have too many of those types of players.