The Minnesota Wild made big headlines this week. They bought out the contracts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, which makes both former stars immediate free agents. Of course, Parise is the topic of conversation because of the fact that he is a former New Jersey Devils superstar.
He was an elite player with them for a long time and even captained them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. A lot of fans are still mad at him for leaving but there is no denying the player that he was.
It is strange to think about the fact that Parise played more years (9) with the Minnesota Wild than he did (7) with the New Jersey Devils. He did not, however, have more points with the Wild. He had 199 goals and 201 assists for 400 points in 558 games played with Minnesota. With New Jersey, he had 194 goals and 216 assists for 410 points in 502 games played. It is natural, however, to slow down as you age and all of his Devils years were in the prime of his career.
BREAKING NEWS: #mnwild buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter: Sourceshttps://t.co/ScfiN7urSl
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 13, 2021
Parise is still 190 points away from reaching 1000 and going into his age-37 season, it may be tough to see that happening. He is only 7 goals away from reaching 400 though. It is going to be interesting to see which team he decides to chase that milestone with.
Zach Parise would be a decent fit on the New Jersey Devils to end his career.
According to Bovada, his old team is one of the favorites. In fact, the New Jersey Devils are tied with the New York Islanders for the favorites to land Parise at +200. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in third at +225, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators at +500. Seeing the Devils on there is really interesting.
New Jersey has absolutely no veteran leadership amongst their forwards right now. A lot of people take no stock in that but it may be good to have a player older than 28 in the forward group at some point. The kids could use a voice around them that has been through the grind of an NHL season in good times and bad. Parise could provide that to this team.
He certainly wouldn’t be the captain anymore. That distinction belongs to Nico Hischier who is going to be one of the team’s faces for a long time. Hischier would really benefit from adding someone like Parise who he can lean on in terms of leadership.
The Devils aren’t going to be that good of a team in 2021-22 regardless of Parise’s decision so they might as well try if he is willing. He could do more good for them than bad. His ability to play left wing on any of the four lines would benefit as well. There is even a chance that he finds his scoring touch on a young team like the Devils. He has proven that he has a little bit left in the tank so maybe these oddsmakers are on to something.