NHL trade rumors: Top 10 trade candidates in 2020-21

7. Zach Parise

Team: Minnesota Wild
Position: LW
Age: 35

One of the more surprising storylines of the 2020 NHL trade deadline was that of the talk surrounding Minnesota Wild left winger Zach Parise. Signed to one of the sport’s most head-turning contracts, Parise is slated to make a whopping $7.54 million per season all the way through to 2024-25. As such, the mere thought of the 35-year-old left winger being dealt to another organization had been all but improbable for quite some time.

That all changed on deadline day when the aforementioned Parise and Andrew Ladd of the New York Islanders waived their clauses so as to switch clubs. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman summarizes why the deal failed to come to fruition:

"This move was on the table last summer, but then-Wild GM Paul Fenton rejected the idea. Both sides revisited it over the past few weeks, but the issue was money. Parise has $37 million in cap room to go after this season, although only $19 million is cash. Ladd has $16.5 million in cap room, $12 million in cash ($9 million of it is signing bonuses; Parise has no more). There were all sorts of issues to consider on keeping money, sweeteners to do so, etc. . . . People were concerned about Lou Lamoriello’s reaction if it got out prematurely. For very legitimate reasons, Minnesota was concerned about cap-recapture issues if Parise retired early — although I’m sure the Minnesota native would be amenable to solutions. It’s not an easy deal to make, and who knows where it goes from here."

Minnesota will likely opt to make some dynamic-altering moves over the course of the summer ahead. Whether Parise shall remain part of the club’s long-term plans is a question that remains unanswered.