Zach Parise has enjoyed an illustrious National Hockey League career, but the Minnesota native lacks one crucial piece of hardware: a Stanley Cup. And the 39-year-old will have one more chance after signing with the Colorado Avalanche at the end of January.
Parise confirmed that the rest of the 2023-24 campaign will be his last dance.
“Yeah, this is it,” he said this week , per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “This is it.”
Parise and the Avalanche agreed to a one-year deal on Jan. 26; he spent two days in Colorado before the club embarked on a long six-game road trip at the beginning of February.
The road hasn’t been kind at all to the Avs; they lost the first four to the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers before righting the ship in a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.
Colorado will be looking to finish strong against Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida on Thursday night.
“It does help,” Parise explained when asked how the road trip could benefit his transition with the team. “It’s a great way to get to know everybody and spend time together on the road. So, from that standpoint, being on the road for 12 days to start is good.”
Zach Parise making an impact with Avalanche
The only player Parise knew on the 2023-24 Avalanche coming in was Jack Johnson; the two played prep school together in Faribault, Minnesota, per Gulitti.
Playing third line minutes — he’s averaging 12:44 through five games — Parise already has his first goal with the team, and has added 10 shots, three hits and five blocks.
“It’s been great,” Parise said of the transition. “System-wise things are a little different than what I had been playing, but it’s pretty simple to learn. It’s great to be back playing. … Of course, there’s things you get so accustomed to doing routine-wise and you’ve got to hop back into that pretty quickly.”
And his new coach is taking notice.
“He’s looked pretty good,” Jared Bednar explained. “Another guy, just a veteran guy that understands the game, plays the right way for 200 feet. He’s chipped in a little bit offensively. He’s doing a nice job on the defensive side of things. Obviously, took care of himself really well and was prepping to get ready to play, so physically he’s there. That experience, it’s hard to teach that.”
A veteran of 1,229 regular-season games, Zach Parise has accumulated 430 goals and 880 points, while adding another 80 points in 111 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with the New Jersey Devils in 2012, eventually losing to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. He hasn’t been past the second round since, and will have one more chance with the team that captured Lord Stanley two years ago.
“I have a lot and I’ll give everything to whatever role, whatever situation they put me in. Wherever they throw me, I’ll give it everything I’ve got. That hasn’t changed. But I’m grateful to be given the opportunity.”
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