To really appreciate how uncomfortable the relationship between the Wild and Zach Parise seems to have become this season, consider this:
It has driven me to think that a team that has had surprising success that almost certainly will lead to a playoff berth would be best off trading a player who led the Wild in goals each of the past two seasons and who has 35 goals and 77 points in 101 career postseason games. I talked about this on today's Daily Delivery podcast.
If you don't see the podcast player, click here to listen.
Parise was almost traded last year at the deadline, so thinking about this notion isn't new. But last year's Wild team was languishing in 11th place in the West, five points back of the No. 8 spot, at the deadline in late February. The Wild was more in "sell" mode.
A deal was reportedly in the works to send Parise to the Islanders but it fell through. Not long after that, the COVID shutdown happened. The Wild made it to the play-in part of the playoffs and lost in four games.
Then this year rolled around. Parise was playing the customary 17-18 minutes per game that he had settled into each of the previous four seasons. But he has seldom been used on the power play.
As the year progressed, his minutes dipped: 17:07 per game in his first 15; in the last 15 games, that has dropped to 13:45; in just the last seven, it's down to 12:37 — with two games under 11 minutes, the lowest totals of his Wild career other than games in which he had to leave with an injury.
Along the way there was a healthy scratch — a decision Parise said he did not agree with in talking to reporters. There was a game in which he was glued to the bench for the latter part of the third period. And recently there was an admission from Parise that dealing with a reduced role has been "frustrating" and "challenging."
