Montreal Canadiens: Zach Parise Another Potential Corey Perry-Esque Addition

It’s been an odd past few days in the NHL, and in a noted change of pace from any developments over the past few months, it didn’t involve the Montreal Canadiens.

For a person who typically starts their morning checking the NHL transactions page, Montreal’s continually improbable playoff run slowly led me away from that practice. That was until their 1-0 loss in a decisive Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, whereupon the 2021 offseason got off to a frenzied and, in my opinion, panicked start.

The Duncan Keith rumour mill was something I was somewhat aware of prior to the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but even still, I didn’t expect it to end this early.

After experiencing some notable regressions over the past few seasons, the 35-year-old Chicago Blackhawks cornerstone was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for prospect Caleb Jones and a conditional pick. Regardless of what you think about Oilers GM Ken Holland’s decision (Chicago not having to retain any salary or not), it was almost immediately brushed to the side by an even more frenzied and panicked decision, one which could potentially, benefit the Canadiens.

I don’t have to have a degree in aeronautical engineering or sports management to tell you that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s contracts were becoming a bit of an issue for the Minnesota Wild. Now granted, from the day GM Chuck Fletcher inked the two all-stars to identical 13-year deals worth 98$ million, most people thought they would become an issue, but I digress. Point is, both players are now free agents once more after having the final four years of their contracts bought out on Monday.

While both had managed to put together some solid seasons in Minnesota, having made the Wild consistent competitors and given them some true star power in the process, things had changed over the past few seasons. While both players continued to be reliable 40-point options even if not true game-breaking stars, 2020-21 was truly when things began to tail off.

As the Wild’s course of action shifted towards development and a more defensive approach, so did their roster, and subsequently, Parise and Suter’s roles within the organization. With Minnesota looking for their eighth playoff appearance in nine years heading into 2020-21, the two former first-round picks found themselves more as depth options than true star forwards for a Wild team that surprised many.

Now having the freedom to sign wherever they please, the question turns to where either Parise or Suter will end up, and in my opinion, this is where the Canadiens come into the picture. Regardless of any continued disappointment that may stem from Montreal ultimately falling short of Lord Stanley’s Mug, they were a number of notable performances over the course of these playoffs that should follow into the offseason. Case in point, Corey Perry.

In what has been a wild start to the 2021 offseason, former Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise could be a potential option for the Montreal Canadiens.

Certain Canadiens fans dislike Perry due to his style of play, but the former Anaheim Ducks star played a key role for the Canadiens over their playoff run, with his veteran leadership and continued offensive ability, especially on the powerplay. For a player who was originally acquired as a fallback option/taxi squad casualty, Perry going unclaimed on waivers earlier this season wound up being more beneficial, if not essential to the Canadiens, than most could’ve predicted.

Playing on a one-year deal at league minimum and wanting to re-sign in Montreal for next season at that, I think there’s a chance Parise could be of similar use to the Canadiens as Perry was, depending on his asking price as compared to his previous AAV of $7.5 million. Obviously, Wild GM Bill Guerin’s ultimate decision to buy out both Parise’s and Suter’s contracts has reduced their initial value and expectations regarding their continued ability, but in my opinion, this is mostly unjustified.

Both Parise and Suter are just one year removed from 46 and 48-point seasons respectively, and in 2018-19, Parise put up his second 60-point season in Minnesota, with 28-33-61 totals over 74 games. Now granted, whilst father time can catch up to players remarkably quickly, as it had almost done for Eric Staal prior to the postseason, I think Parise could be an exception to the rule, and if not, he would still be a reliable defensive and veteran option at that. One of the factors to consider when looking back on both Parise and Suter’s performances over 2020-21, is how they were ultimately used within the lineup.

In 2019-20, the two placed third (Suter) and fourth (Parise) on the Wild in scoring, as head coach Dean Evason adjusted to a new lineup after Bruce Boudreau was given the axe. With a resurged Mats Zuccarello, continually reliable Kevin Fiala, and new franchise player (assuming they can resign him) in Kirill Kaprizov, Suter and Parise quickly became expendable. In a new environment and most importantly, new organization, however, I feel as though these two are far from over in terms of production.

While his speed has naturally begun to digress over the past few seasons, Parise can still be an offensive weapon when given the opportunities His experience as a productive, smaller forward in the NHL could be, (like Perry in the playoffs) a great veteran option for some of the Canadiens top prospects like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Under the right circumstances and with the right linemates, I could easily see Parise being a bare 40–45-point player, even in a more defensive role. Now granted, whether he plays up to Perry’s level or Kyle Turris’s in Edmonton remains to be seen, but regardless, I feel as though Parise has a lot more left in him than meets the eye.

Following their most successful season overall since their last Stanley Cup in 1993, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin will definitely have his work cut out for him in the offseason.

With the expectation set for a hopefully solid 2021-22, I have reason to believe that Zach Parise could contribute to that for the Montreal Canadiens, whether it be in a veteran presence or the one-time offensive role he seemed to have lost in Minnesota.