There was a point in time when Zach Parise was one of the best wingers in the National Hockey League. For a long time, he was also the face of USA Hockey along with Patrick Kane.
Now, he is 39 years old playing one final season in the NHL. He spent the first seven years of his career with the New Jersey Devils. The next nine were spent with the Minnesota Wild after earning a big contract in free agency.
After they let him go in his later years, he played for the New York Islanders for two seasons. After a 21-goal season in 2022-23, it was clear that he could still play.
Parise took time off to start this year before signing a contract with the Colorado Avalanche for one final season. He is going to retire when the Avalanche are done.
The Colorado Avalanche have a very good depth piece in Zach Parise
This is a player who has done a lot of good things in the NHL. He will probably come just short of being a Hall of Famer but there is no doubt he was more than good. He'd like to end a truly impressive career with a Stanley Cup victory.
Parise showed just how valuable he can be on Thursday night when the Colorado Avalanche paid a visit to the Chicago Blackhawks. They shut them out 5-0 on the back of Parise's three-point night and Justus Annunen's 24-save shutout.
His first goal was the first of the game and served as the game-winner. He looked like he was 27 years old again for one night.
Parise's second point of the night passed Blackhawks legend Jonathan Jonathan Toews in career points. He now has the most NHL points of any University of North Dakota Alumni ever. This is a great achievement for him as one of the best UND alums ever.
In the win, Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon had two points each as well. Makar is in the running for the Norris Trophy while MacKinnon is in the running for the Hart Trophy.
One of MacKinnon's points was a goal scored in the final few minutes of the game. That was his 100th point of the season which is a very impressive number to reach in general let alone in February.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a very bad hockey team but the Avalanche sure showed them their might. It was a dominant performance for them and they banked two important points in the Central Division race.
Parise and the Avs are headed south to take on the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. We'll see if they can build on this big win in Chicago as they head toward the postseason. If they can continue getting contributions from everyone, they will be hard to beat down the stretch.