The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to make the playoffs. They aren't a team interested in anything else other than winning. That has been the standard there since Sidney Crosby and Evengi Malkin took over the team.
They have had some issues this year which is why they are 14-13-3 which is good for seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. Only six points separate second place and seventh place though so it is a tight race right now. Anything is possible.
The Penguins just recently started scoring some power-play goals lately but they went about a month without one. With all of the talent that they have there, it was stunning that they went that long without a power play goal.
Even though the streak is over, there is a free agent that they could add to help them in this area. That free agent is Zach Parise. He would be perfect to have on the top unit as a net-front guy.
The Pittsburgh Penguins should consider signing Zach Parise for help.
He has always been very good at tipping pucks and scoring rebound goals. Few players in the last decade have been as good at scoring garbage goals.
Parise has scored 429 goals and 450 assists for 879 points in 1224 games played split between the New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, and New York Islanders. 125 of those goals have been power play goals, mostly just hanging right in front of the net.
Even at 39 years old, he would be able to take advantage of all the Penguins' skills. In 2022-23, Parise scored 21 goals. Only three came on the power play but he wasn't on the Islanders power play as much. If Pittsburgh brought him in and put him on the top unit, he'd certainly have more.
At 5 on 5, Parise could help them too. He would provide a full effort on every shift he takes. At this point in his career, he could provide some offensive jam to a fourth line or he could play up in the lineup. The versatility is there.
The Penguins were on Zach Parise's radar in 2012 when he was going through his big free-agency but he ended up with the Wild. Seeing him and Sidney Crosby on the same team all of these years later would be truly awesome.