Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise’s Expectations for Next Season

This past season was the worst 82 game point output for Zach Parise since his rookie season (53). He was hindered by a lingering back injury that ultimately kept him out for the playoffs, robbing the Minnesota Wild of its best offensive threat.

Make no mistake, Zach Parise is the best pure goal scorer on the Wild right now. He is a lock to score somewhere in the range of 25-30 goals regardless of if he is playing at 100% or not. Last season’s 25 goals are  proof that even slowed by an injury he remains a dangerous scoring threat. Instead of looking at Parise’s place on the Wild next season (we already know he will be a top 6 winger), lets look at what can be done to keep him healthy for the stretch run.

First off, Parise’s 195 pound frame does him no favors in protecting his body from injury as he is slightly undersized for a forward. That compounded with the fact that he is a grinder who plays with a reckless abandon means he can be prone to injury. And that has proven to be the case over the past three years as he has missed 35 regular season and 6 post season games.

A back injury is the type of thing that can linger and drastically affect an athelete’s performance, Peyton Manning is a perfect example of this. Short of asking Parise to stop playing as hard as he does, the team is left with a couple different options to help keep him healthy for the full season and playoffs.

The first recommendation for the Wild is to limit his minutes. During his time with the Wild, the team has counted on his to play close to 20 minutes a night. Given that he is coming off a serious injury that presents possible long term concerns, the team should lower his ice time by a minute a game.

Players such as Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula have earned a larger role on the team next season, and are capable of playing increased minutes. Additionally, both of Niederreiter and Haula  are young (Haula is 25 and Niederreiter will be 24 going into next season) so they are not as much of an injury risk as Parise at this point in their careers.

Secondly, the team should consider sitting Parise for one game out of every ten that they play. This should be the case especially early in the season when he will be playing for the first time since March. It allows the team to ease him back into the rigors of an 82 game season.

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Given that he will be 32 at the start of next season and is under contract until he is 41, the Wild have an interest in keeping Zach Parise healthy. He is so important to the team and represents a huge financial investment, and he needs to be on the ice to make good on that investment.

The team should seriously consider these options if they want Parise to be healthy for the stretch run and playoffs next season.