3 teams who should sign Zach Parise so he can get revenge on the Wild
With his pride wounded by a buyout from the Minnesota Wild, these three teams should be looking to bet on a revenge tour from Zach Parise.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild made the bold move to buyout both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The remaining four years of their matching $13-year, $98 million deals were not easily tradeable, so general manager Bill Guerin cleared them both out while embracing the future cap implications.
The more surprising buyout of the two is Suter, who is still a capable, reliable, minutes-eating defenseman. But at age-36 (37 in January), the decline could be coming and his relationship with coaches may have been tenuous. In becoming a fourth-liner this past season, and near the end a healthy scratch, the decline is here for Parise.
In 45 regular season games in 2020-21, Parise tallied just 18 points and he’ll turn 37 on July 28. But he did have 25 or more goals in each of the prior two seasons, albeit with some puck-luck on his way to 25 goals in 2019-20 (a career-best 16.1 shooting percentage).
Parise will not be retiring. Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, during an appearance on KFAN Radio Tuesday, he was apparently working out on the ice when he got word from the Wild he was being bought out.
‘It was a difficult season. I don’t really know how else to put it. I’ve never felt lower in my career.’ - Zach Parise
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 14, 2021
BEHIND THE SCENES of the #mnwild’s stunning Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, the salary-cap repercussions and what’s next>>> https://t.co/mq5yqKE3vD
Parise will have redemption, and maybe even revenge, on his mind as he looks for a landing spot next season. These three teams should be looking at the possibility to take advantage.
NHL Rumors: Zach Parise landing spots that make sense
3. St. Louis Blues
The Blues are in line for some turnover this offseason, and a trade to send Vladimir Tarasenko out of town is inevitable. That will leave a void offensively, even though Tarasenko has been banged up and unproductive over the last couple years. Parise could help fill that void cheaply, even as ideally a third-liner.
As the NHL goes back to normal divisions next season, the Wild and Blues will again be Central Division rivals and play each other a bunch. Expect Parise to be aware of that, and have St. Louis high on his list of teams he’d like to sign with.