Avalanche signs Zach Parise for the remainder of the season
Zach Parise is back. And this time it will be with him Colorado avalanche As the club announced on Friday, the 39-year-old winger has signed up for the rest of the season.
Parise, who spent the last two years with the New York IslandersHe has been without a club since the start of the season. He finished the 2022-23 season with 21 goals and 13 assists in 82 games, the 11th season of his career in which he scored 20 or more goals.
“We are excited to add Zach to our group,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. “Throughout his impressive NHL career, Zach has always been a highly competitive and ambitious forward who is difficult to play against. We look forward to adding his experienced presence to our locker room.”
Signing Parise, who has never won a Stanley Cup, to the rest of the season represents several goals for an Avalanche team looking to win its second Cup in the last three years.
Arguably the Avalanche's most important problem in their attempt to win another title was the lack of a secondary. This proved to be one of the reasons why they were unable to defend their title last season as they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. This was something MacFarland and his front office quickly responded to in the offseason when they took over the company Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Johansen And Miles Wood.
Their additions became even more important as the Avalanche began the season without a captain Gabriel Landeskog, who suffered a right knee injury that required two surgeries, the most recent in May. The last time the 31-year-old played for the Avs was during their Cup run in 2022. Earlier this month, he suited up for the Avs with the knowledge that he is nowhere near a return to game action.
Stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar And Mikko Rantanen have continued to provide the Avalanche with the necessary impact. MacKinnon leads the Avs and leads the NHL in scoring with 84 points. Rantanen is second on the team in points while Makar is third.
Although scoring a secondary has been difficult at times this season, the Avalanche still finished Friday's action with eight players who scored more than 10 goals each and eight players with 20 or more points.
Parise could also potentially help the Avalanche fill some of the void she left behind Valery Nichushkin in their lineup. The hulking, two-way winger, who has 22 goals and 20 assists this season, resigned from the team on Jan. 15 to enter the NHL/NHLPA's Player Assistance Program indefinitely.
Until Friday's game, the Avalanche (32-14-3) were in first place in the Central Division. They are two points ahead of second place Winnipeg Jets by points, but the Jets have played three fewer games. The Avs are also two points behind Boston Bruins And Vancouver Canucks in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, having last won the award in the 2021–22 season, the same year they won their third Stanley Cup.
