At 38 years old, pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) Zach Parise has piled up career accomplishments and will eventually go down in history as one of the great US-born players to play the game. After playing each of the past two seasons with the New York Islanders for the same general manager (GM) that originally drafted him, some could say his career has come full circle. Now, despite Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello publicly stating that he would like to have Parise back for another season, the veteran forward has yet to make a decision regarding next season, saying, “I think it would be here or nowhere. I just feel like that’s how it would be.”. While it remains to be seen whether or not he will return, today we take a look back at his path to the NHL and his accomplishments to date through an 18-year NHL career.
Parise’s father, J.P. Parise, had a 14-year NHL career with nine seasons playing for the Minnesota North Stars. Although his father was born in Canada, Zach was born in Edina, Minnesota, and went on to represent his country at the national level many times over the course of his career. Today he sits quite high on the list when it comes to the all-time US-born NHL scoring leaders and games played. His story, however, begins many years before becoming a first-round selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Parise’s Early Years
Growing up as a child of an NHL player, Parise was naturally drawn to the ice. Combine that with being born in America’s “State of Hockey,” and an early passion for the game was created. In an article by The Athletic, Russo interviewed Parise’s mother, Donna, and his wife, Alisha. His mother spoke about the influence Parise’s father had on Zach’s obsession with hockey at a young age, “But (Jordan and Zach) were always just really into hockey. I mean, they played other sports. J.P. introduced them to everything so that they could make the decision on what they wanted to do. Baseball was pretty big in Zach’s life, too, but he was obsessed with hockey” (from ‘Zach Parise’s journey to 1,000 games, through the eyes of his wife and mother’, The Athletic, Feb. 6, 2020).
Although he was born in Edina, Parise played his youth hockey in Bloomington, Minnesota, where he quickly began racking up points on the ice. His parents began to realize Parise had the potential to make it at a young age. “We always thought he was good, and J.P. used to always tell me there’s something about him, but what is it, something like 3 percent of how many hockey players make it?” Donna said.
When Parise was just 11 years old, his father began his role at Minnesota’s “Hockey Center of Excellence,” where he was named the hockey director at Shattuck St Mary’s school. With his father’s new role at the well-renowned school also came a great opportunity for Zach to take part in the school’s hockey program. At first, the young Parise was reluctant to make the move to Faribault, as he was entering the sixth grade and wanted to continue playing hockey and going to school with his local friends.
A week before school was set to begin, Parise went to Faribault to spend some time with his father. During the week, Parise, who was a young pee wee player at the time, decided he would stay, moving up to play with the Bantam team at Shattuck. “The thing is, there was no peewee team down there, and I didn’t want to be over my head, and then everybody says, ‘He’s only on the team because he’s the coach’s son.’ I just wanted to feel it out to see if I could play at that level. I don’t know if I could or couldn’t, but I ended up staying and loved it.” Parise said when asked about his reluctance to make the move at such a young age.
The move turned out to be a great decision for Parise as he went on to stay at the school from ages 11-18, and his family eventually sold their family home in Bloomington to live together in Fairbault. The Parise home became a place to stay for visiting hockey players’ families and quickly became a spot for Parise to hang out with his other hockey friends. Future NHL players, including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Drew Stafford, Kyle Okposo and Jack Johnson, all spent time with Parise at their family home. “Mom was making me and all my buddies pregame meals or whatever. It was pretty unique, it was great. And Shattuck set my path toward college hockey and the NHL.” Parise said of the experience.
Parise Becomes a Standout Player at Shattuck
On the ice Parise’s game took off while playing for the school. While playing at the Midget “AAA” level with Shattuck, his numbers exploded. In his first season, he played 58 games, scoring 69 goals and 93 assists for 162 points. In his second season, he somehow improved on those miraculous numbers, posting 77 goals and 101 assists for 178 points in 67 games.
In the midst of his spectacular season, Parise received a call from a Sports Illustrated reporter who wanted to do a feature on him. It was at that point his mother knew her standout son had made it.
Parise gained a ton of attention from various hockey scouts during his time at Shattuck, and during the 2001-02 season, he also got his first taste of playing at the national level, suiting up for Team USA at the U18 World Championship. Through eight games at the tournament, he continued to impress, scoring seven goals and three assists. Team USA won a gold medal at the tournament, with Parise scoring the game-winning goal against Russia.
At the culmination of Parise’s high school career, he committed to play NCAA hockey for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux (now North Dakota Fighting Hawks). His time at Shattuck was instrumental in the development of the now-seasoned NHL veteran.
Parise Continues Dominance at North Dakota
Parise played two seasons in the NCAA, where he continued to demonstrate his dominance on the ice. In his freshman campaign, he became the first rookie in the school’s history to be named a Hobey Baker finalist. He was also named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team and led all NCAA rookies in scoring at 1.56 points per game. He finished his freshman season with 26 goals and 35 assists for 61 points in 39 games. He also took part in the 2003 U20 World Junior Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia and led Team USA in scoring with four goals and four assists in seven games. He capped off his impressive freshman year by being drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, 17th overall at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Following his draft selection, Parise returned to North Dakota for his sophomore season and put together another strong performance. He scored 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points in 37 games. He also joined Team USA at the 2004 U20 WJC, leading USA to their first-ever gold medal at the prestigious tournament. He once again led Team USA in scoring with five goals and six assists for 11 points in six games, claiming honours as the tournament MVP.
During his time at the University of North Dakota, Parise also met his wife, Alisha, long before he set off for what has turned into a lengthy NHL career. Alisha grew up in a small community in North Dakota and admittedly knew very little about the sport or about how Parise was destined for a career in professional hockey. As Parise’s NCAA career came to an end, she still had no clue what was to follow for her future husband, “Just to show you how I still had no clue, when he left, he told me he was leaving for New Jersey,” Alisha said. “I asked, ‘Oh, for how long?” A question to which Parise replied, “Forever.”
Parise Starts His NHL Career With the New Jersey Devils
Parise signed his first professional contract with the New Jersey Devils following his sophomore season with North Dakota, Unfortunately, due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he spent his first pro season playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Albany River Rats. He scored 18 goals and 40 assists in 73 games with the River Rats.
He made his NHL debut with the Devils in the 2005-06 season and scored his first NHL goal in his first game, becoming the 12th Devils player to do so. His rookie season, however, took some adjustments for Parise to get used to the level of play in the NHL, and in 81 games, he potted 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points.
In his second season with the Devils, Parise became a more effective offensive player, nearly doubling his rookie numbers. While playing in all 82 regular season games, he surpassed the 30-goal mark for the first time, scoring 31 goals and 31 assists for 62 points. The Devils also reached the second round of the playoffs, with Parise adding seven goals and three assists in ten games.
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After his first contract expired, Parise thrilled the Devils franchise by re-signing with the club. “Over the past two seasons, Zach has established himself as one of the outstanding young stars in the National Hockey League,” then-Devils CEO Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. “We are delighted that he has re-signed a multi-year contract with us.” Parise signed a four-year deal worth $12.5 million, and he was just about to take off.
Parise continued to improve his offensive numbers leading up to the 2008-09 NHL season when he put together the best individual season of his career. He finished third overall in goal scoring, behind only Alex Ovechkin and Jeff Carter, notching 45 goals and adding 49 assists for a 94-point campaign. Despite his superior production, the Devils were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the second consecutive season.
While showing growth on and off the ice, Parise became a leader for the Devils and, as such, was named an alternate captain during the final two years of the four-year deal he had signed in 2007. He put up 82 points in the 2009-10 season before suffering a setback during the 2010-11 campaign. He suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee and was limited to just 13 games.
Despite the Devils filing for arbitration in June of 2011, Lamoriello was able to negotiate a one-year deal worth $6 million with Parise on July 29, 2011. On Oct. 5, 2011, the Devils named Parise as their captain, an honour Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur approved of. “It’s well-deserved,” Brodeur said. “He’s the future of the organization, and he’s grown to become a dominant player.”. Through 82 games, the Devils captain scored 31 goals, hitting the 30-goal mark for the fifth time in seven seasons.
Parise also played a vital role in the Devils’ run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, becoming just the second captain in franchise history to do so. Despite his efforts, with eight goals and seven assists in 24 playoff games, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Devils in six games.
Parise Cashes in and Returns to Minnesota
Following the Devils’ impressive playoff run, Parise became a UFA for the first time in his career, and on July 4, 2012, the Minnesota Wild sent waves through the hockey world. Parise, along with premier defenceman Ryan Suter, signed identical massive 13-year contracts worth $98 million each. After spending seven seasons with the Devils, he was finally returning home to Minnesota, and both he and his family couldn’t have been more thrilled. “My parents were so excited when they knew that I was considering coming back home,” Parise said. “When I made the decision, they were real excited as well. That played a big part. I grew up here, I love coming back here in the summers, and I thought, We enjoy it here so much it would be great to be here year-round.”
Parise went on to play nine seasons for the Wild scoring 199 goals and 201 assists for 400 points in 558 games. His best season came in 2014-15 when he scored 33 goals, and 29 assists for 62 points. That would be the only time he surpassed the 30-goal mark with the club.
Aside from the shortened 48-game season in 2012-13, he was unable to play a full schedule due to various injuries. After suffering a herniated disc in his back during the 2015-16 season, he was at first able to rehab without surgery and make a return to the Wild lineup for the 2016-17 season. Unfortunately, the injury was re-aggravated near the end of the season, and Parise was forced to sit out for the playoffs. Ultimately it got so bad that it required surgery. “There was a point I was cutting his food up for him. I would put it on the floor, and he literally would lay on the floor and eat. It was hard because the twins were four, I was pregnant with Theo. Quality of life, he couldn’t go on like that. He had to have the surgery.” His wife Alisha told Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Following the surgery, he missed half of the 2016-17 season, and admittedly so, it took a while for him to regain that jump in his game that had helped him become such an effective player over the years. He bounced back with a strong season in 2017-18, scoring 28 goals and 33 assists for 61 points in 74 games. On Feb. 7, 2020, he achieved a huge personal milestone by playing in his 1,000th NHL game.
Despite the lofty expectations that came with signing Parise and Suter to long-term contracts, the Wild were unable to move past the second round of the postseason. Following the 2020-21 season, both players were bought out by the franchise with four years remaining on their contracts.
Parise’s Name a Staple With USA Hockey
Throughout his career, Parise has had the opportunity to represent his country multiple times at various levels. As previously mentioned, he won gold medals at the U18 World Championship and also at the U20 World Juniors. Following those performances, he played in three World Championships, two Olympics, and the World Cup of Hockey with Team USA. Parise also won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and was given the honour of being named Team USA’s captain for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
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Although his name may not be mentioned amongst the likes of Mike Modano, Patrick Kane, and Jeremy Roenick, Parise is still one of the greatest US players to ever lace up the skates. With 879 career points and 1,224 games played, he currently sits 16th all-time and 15th all-time respectively amongst US-born players. While he may not reach Hall of Fame status, he is a lock to eventually be inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame whenever he decides to call it a career.
Parise Signs With Lamoriello’s Islanders
After being bought out by the Wild, Parise’s career, in some ways, has come full circle as he signed as a free agent with Lamoriello and the Islanders. He has played two full seasons with the club and has had a full bill of health in each season, playing all 82 games. He has been a versatile forward for the Islanders and provided some much-needed secondary scoring for the club this past season. He had 21 goals and 13 assists for 34 points during the 2022-23 season while playing primarily in a bottom-six role. Following their recent first-round exit against the Hurricanes, the savvy veteran finds himself once again a pending UFA, contemplating a return to the Islanders.
Parise Faces Difficult Decision as Career Nears an End
Today, as this article is written, the Vegas Golden Knights sit one win away from winning the Stanley Cup, and while the Islanders haven’t played since April 28, all has been quiet regarding Parise’s future. Once again, no different from numerous times throughout his career, he faces another difficult decision. Much like as an 11-year-old deciding to leave his school friends behind to play at Shattuck St Mary’s, and again when deciding to leave the franchise that drafted him to sign with his home state Wild, he must now decide whether or not he wants to resume his NHL career with the Islanders. Aside from winning that elusive Stanley Cup, Parise has achieved enough that he can hang up the skates and look back on what has been one hell of a ride.
Many fans are unaware that Parise’s family has continued to stay in Minnesota during his past two seasons with the Islanders. With three children at home who themselves have grown infatuated with the game of hockey, Parise must decide whether it’s time to call it a career and be a full-time dad or come back for one more season. Whatever his decision is, it won’t be about the money, as he has estimated career earnings of $110,243,397, according to CapFriendly. While he is far beyond the 30-goal scorer he once was, the Islanders surely would benefit from having him come back on a team-friendly contract considering how little cap room they have as the offseason is set to begin. Keep an eye out for Parise to make his decision in the coming weeks, and if this is it, congratulations on a great career.
