ST. PAUL, Minn. – Zach Parise is a proud Minnesotan with every fiber of his being. He grew up here. He raises his three children here. And one day very soon, after permanently cutting the laces on his skates at the bottom of his Energizer Bunny legs, he’ll be coaching here, whether it’s his own kids or maybe the Edina High School state champion Hornets .
No Minnesota-born player in NHL history has scored more than Parise’s 433. When he forced overtime in the gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics, there was this pride throughout the hockey state that Zach Parise was one of us. When he helped the United States win gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships, two years after he also dominated the Under-18 World Championship, Minnesotans knew Zach Parise was theirs.
And when Zach Parise and Ryan Suter set off those July 4, 2012 fireworks in the Twin Cities on a 100-plus degree day by signing two 13-year contracts and choosing the Wild of all teams over franchises like Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia. , Pittsburgh and so many others who were chasing them, they brought legitimacy to a franchise that lacked star power, pizzazz…and playoff victories.
Parise and Suter brought instant credibility and elevated the Wild’s status to perennial playoff participants and were part of two of three teams in franchise history that made it past the first round.
Of course, we all know their tenure in Minnesota didn’t end the way they imagined. Just as they arrived together, they left together when general manager Bill Guerin made the bold decision to buy out each of them on the final four years of their contract in July 2021.
And while every Wild fan can say from the tip of their tongue precisely what the cap penalty is for Parise and Suter, that $14.7 million “isn’t my fault,” Parise said with that typical laugh from Parise and this broad smile Thursday morning in a conversation with Athleticism.
No, this is not the case.
You shouldn’t blame him. Suter shouldn’t be blamed, and no one should hold them responsible for the Wild not being able to raise a Stanley Cup banner to go along with the dusty 2008 Northwest Division championship banner that stands alone at the top of the Xcel Energy Center.
They did their job.
In 558 games with the Wild, Parise ranks third with 199 goals and 400 points, first with 69 power play goals, second with 39 game-winning goals and second with 1,707 shots. He is the Wild’s all-time playoff leader with 16 goals, 21 assists, 37 points and six power play goals in 44 games.
He scored the eighth-most goals in NHL history for an American-born player.
He has long been one of the hardest workers and most determined goal scorers in the NHL, and the fact is he was born and raised in this great state.
That’s what will be remembered Thursday night when Parisé takes the ice with the Colorado Avalanche in what will likely be his last professional game in Minnesota.
“When I think about it this morning, no, but I think once the game starts and I start playing a little bit, I think it might be emotional,” said Parise, who is perhaps 39 years old now but doesn’t look much older. than the 27-year-old who sat next to Suter during his introductory press conference with his mother, Donna, and his late father, the legendary JP Parise, by his side.
“At the end of the game, it will be on my mind. Just a lot of good memories. I think knowing that this will be my last game here in Minnesota, it will be difficult.
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Parise’s wife, Alisha, will be at the game with their 10-year-old twins, Jaxson and Emmy, and 6-year-old Theo. He will have a lot of friends in the stands, not counting his daughter’s hockey team, which Parise coached this winter. Donna decided to stay home and watch TV.
Parise is trying not to let the pain of the end of his career with the Wild extinguish the memories he cherished here. His three children were born after he signed, and he will always be grateful to have been able to be home when his father was diagnosed with cancer and to have lived in Minnesota for the last year of his life.
One of his fondest memories with the Wild came on March 29, 2014, when Chuck Fletcher, shortly after JP fell ill, gave him the gift of a lifetime: a personal father-son trip with the Wild. It’s something he never got to do when his son played in New Jersey. On that trip, to Arizona, Parise scored his 238th and 239th goals in a 3–1 victory to tie and surpass his father’s career goal total.
After the match, Zach and JP documented the special moment with a photo taken from the visitors’ bench.
“At the end of the day, no, you don’t want it to end with the Wild, but I just think, given the trend, it was probably better for everyone,” Parise said. “And I consider that, although it was disappointing, I was able to spend two wonderful years on the island, which I loved. And now I get a chance to play here in Colorado and I get a chance to do something special.
“So it worked. It’s not what we originally planned, but I’m proud of what we did in Minnesota.
This may be difficult for Wild fans to accept, but it takes a team to win a Cup, not two individuals. And the reality is that Parise has become the face of the franchise, the willing spokesperson after every win and loss and the leader and leading scorer of several strong teams.
“I think there’s a lot to be proud of,” Parise said before laughing. “Of course, I think our best years, unfortunately, were also Chicago’s best years, and we continued to run into them. Unfortunately, we never got to climb that mountain, but we did a lot of good things.
“I think there was a lot of excitement about the team and I know they were short-lived, but the playoffs, it’s not easy to get there every year and I I thought it was a great accomplishment by the team. I think there are a lot of reasons to be proud to come here. I enjoyed my time in Minnesota. I loved the fans and organization.
And as for having to continue to live here and still hearing that “$14.7 million” number ad nauseam, “I don’t really care.” (The buyout) wasn’t my fault. I can say with confidence and pride that we came here and we played hard, we did our best and we were proud to play for this team. That’s where you can hang your hat.
GO FURTHER
Halfway through the Parise-Suter deals, here’s the full story of how it all happened
After scoring 21 goals in 82 games last season in his second year with the Islanders, a franchise in which his father was a popular figure for four years there, Parise returned to Minnesota last offseason and thought he had finished.
He practiced, but he didn’t practice like he normally would for an NHL season. He thought he was okay with “being done”. But then he went on a golf trip to Scotland, came back to Minnesota and all his NHL buddies were off to training camp. He went to dinner with his wife for her birthday and she even said, “I can tell you still want to play.” »
“She said, ‘You have to do this,’” Parise recalled.
So Parise decided to give it a try. He treated October like it was June and began ramping up his training for a possible 19th grade over the next four months.
He worked hard. He got skated on a bag at Velocity Hockey by Noel Rahn. He has worked with former NHL players Chris Porter and Taylor Chorney. He skated at Shattuck St. Mary’s and even with the Hornets varsity team.
Most thought he would just come back and play for the Islanders, but several playoff contenders pursued him and there was no way to pass up a chance to win it all in Colorado. He signed in February and now plays in a line with Ross Colton, a former Devils diehard who idolized Parise as a kid.
“We always talk about the 2012 Devils team (that went to the final), so it keeps me young,” Parise said. “It’s really nice to try and get one more chance.” It’s a very good team.
Technically, Parise hasn’t announced that he will retire after this season, although it has been reported that “that’s it.”
“I was having a very informal interview like this in Denver, I think, even before our first practice and someone said to me, ‘Are you going to play again after this year?’ Parise said, laughing. “I was like, ‘I don’t think so. This is it.’ It was nothing more than, “That’s it.” But it turned into a big, “That’s it!”
So it’s not final?
“No, I think it’s final,” Parise said, laughing hard. “You and I can talk about this at a different time, but this is how I feel right now. But I’m not thinking about it at the moment. I’m thinking of something else.
A Stanley Cup.
“That would be the dream,” Parise said.
If Parise wins the Cup, then retirement will be certainly accurate.
“Without a doubt,” Parise said with a laugh. “I’ll say, ‘Thank you for everything. Bye!’ Everyone knows the image of Ray Bourque winning there in Colorado. That would be really awesome.
Parise spent the last three days in Minnesota. He took his children to school, “which motivated them,” and played a few games of roller hockey with them after school.
In retirement, Parise will be seen around Minnesota, whether fishing on a lake, playing golf in the Twin Cities or coaching hockey.
There have been many rumors that he would be the heir apparent to Curt Giles if he ever decided to retire from coaching Edina. Parise laughed it off, saying, “Maybe I’ll coach the Edina Squirt team.”
Seriously, he loved helping the Edina High School team last season.
“I helped (assistant coach Josh Harding) on the power play and it was just great to be invested in this team and watch them win everything,” Parise said. “I talked to Hards all the time. We were making videos all the time. It was cool to feel a part of that and I totally see myself after coaching hockey. For example, I love coaching my kids’ teams.
As for the NHL, he has no plans to find a job with a team.
“No, I’m done traveling,” Parise said. “But I’m not going to hang up my skates and be done with it. I love the game.”
(Photo by Zach Parise and Ryan Suter: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)