Parise confirms this will be his last NHL season
Zach Parise is planning on hanging 'em up after this season.
"Yeah, this is it," he said earlier this week in an interview with NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "This is it."
Parise signed a one-year, $825,000 deal with the Colorado Avalanche as an unrestricted free agent in late January. He made his season debut when the Avs returned from the All-Star break and has chipped in with one goal in five games while averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time a night.
The 39-year-old said that he felt at peace with retiring after last season but changed his mind late in the summer.
"I got that itch once guys started to ramp their training up to get ready for camp," Parise added. "In the back of your mind, you're thinking, 'I can still play.'"
He spent his last two campaigns with the New York Islanders and posted back-to-back 30-point seasons without missing a game. Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was upset to see his former teammate go, suggesting that New York's middling record was to blame for Parise's departure.
The Avalanche have made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Colorado has continued its successful ways this campaign and is in a tight battle with the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Central Division.
"That was a big draw with the amount of guys that have won here and how they've been playing all season," Parise said. "That gets you even more excited."
Parise has never lifted Lord Stanley's Mug. He made it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final with the New Jersey Devils, but they fell to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The veteran forward has amassed 37 goals and 80 points in 111 career playoff games.
"I have a lot, and I'll give everything to whatever role, whatever situation they put me in," he said. "Wherever they throw me, I'll give it everything I've got. That hasn't changed. But I'm grateful to be given the opportunity."
Colorado ended a four-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Next up for the Avs is a clash against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.