Daily Links
NYHN Daily: Parise Meets With Media, Piece of Islanders Puzzle, & More
The New York Islanders have officially signed forward Zach Parise as he met with the media on Friday evening. No information about his contract has been disclosed. Parise, 37, still believes he can be a productive player for a Stanley Cup contender and that he just wants to be a piece to the Islanders puzzle.
These stories and more in today’s daily links!
The New York Islanders officially revealed the NHL’s worst-kept offseason secret. Zach Parise is finally an Islander. The news was released Friday ahead of a media call between reporters and Parise. The terms of the deal were not released by the Islanders. Parise, 37, played in 45 games for the Minnesota Wild last season, with seven goals and 11 assists before being bought out of his 13-year, $98 million contract on July 13. Parise is the son of former Islander J.P. Parise and becomes the second father-son duo to play for the organization. (NYI Hockey Now)
Zach Parise is not joining the Islanders as a nostalgia trip, even though there could be plenty of that. His father, J.P. Parise, scored one of the most memorable playoff goals in team history against the Rangers in overtime in 1975 and the organization famously passed on him in the 2003 NHL draft in favor of Robert Nilsson. Plus, there’s his relationship with president and general manager Lou Lamoriello, his old boss with the Devils. But winger Parise chose the Islanders because he believes he still can be a productive player for a Stanley Cup contender. The Wild bought out the final four seasons of his 13-year, $98 million deal on July 13. (Newsday)
Parise mentioned fit with the style of play, familiarity with the structure and culture, and the opportunity to make an impact on his father’s former team as reasons for joining the Islanders. They reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and the Stanley Cup Semifinals last season. “Just from watching them, watching the past few years in the playoffs, it just seemed really familiar to me with that style of hockey, the way we played in New Jersey,” Parise said. “Of course, I always enjoyed my time and played well there. To me in my mind it felt like it would be a good place for me.” (NHL)
Zach Parise was introduced as the newest member of the New York Islanders on Sept. 10. Get to know the Islanders newest winger in the latest edition of 7 Facts. (NHL)
Since Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet floated the idea, it seems a good time to look at Tyler Bozak and what the formerly prized pivot could possibly plunder via an NHL payday. The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without a pair of notable centers to begin the season, which leaves a gigantic hole in the lineup. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
Detroit Red Wings fans would undoubtedly like to see defenseman Moritz Seider win the Calder Trophy this season as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. The last Detroit player to win the Calder was goalkeeper Roger Crozier in 1965. The last runner-up was goalie Jimmy Howard who finished second to Tyler Myers in 2010. (Detroit Hockey Now)
Single-game tickets for the Washington Capitals 2021-22 regular season are now on sale on Ticketmaster.com. The announcement was made Friday in a press release by the Capitals communications department. (Washington Hockey Now)
We always know we’re getting close to hockey season when the rookies step on the ice and try to make a good impression on Vegas Golden Knights management. The Golden Knights have always tried to gauge the progress of their young players, be they draft picks or free agents by having them square off against another team’s rookies. (Vegas Hockey Now)
In 2017-18 and 2018-19, John MacLean led the Arizona Coyotes power play to 26th-place finishes in both seasons. That’s the man running the San Jose Sharkspower play now? But ex-Coyotes video coach Steve Peters of PHNX Sports, who worked with MacLean on Rick Tocchet’s staff, doesn’t think you should judge a book by its cover. (San Jose Hockey Now)
The rubble and ash of the World Trade Center was still being turned over and sifted through when Mark Messier placed fallen fire Chief Raymond Downey’s helmet on his head at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 7, 2001. It was a spontaneous moment, Messier said, the Rangers captain captivating the Garden during a stirring and emotional pregame ceremony on opening night against the Buffalo Sabres less than a month after terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. (NHL)
The St. Louis Blues are putting another spin on their inaugural uniform for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic. The new vintage white version marks the second time the Blues have updated their original dark blue uniforms. The first was for the 2017 NHL Winter Classic where they wore the lighter vintage blue variation that is now their third jersey. (NHL)
Twenty years have gone by, and the sticker remains, a reminder tucked behind the left ear. The sticker, a crown with the name “Ace” arching over it and Mark underneath has adorned the helmets of hundreds of Los Angeles Kings players, those who remember exactly where they were on Sept. 11, 2001, and those, like Quinton Byfield, who weren’t yet born on that day. It’s that sticker, the quiet black-and-white reminder of lives now 20 years gone, that causes Mike Bavis’ voice to get husky and thick. It’s the idea that, even after all this time, no one in the Kings organization, no one in hockey, has forgotten Ace Bailey or Mark Bavis, two victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 2,977 people. (NHL)
Brady Tkachuk is expected to be signed by the Ottawa Senators before training camp begins Sept. 22, general manager Pierre Dorion said Thursday. Tkachuk, a restricted free agent forward, led Ottawa with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 56 games last season. He was second in the NHL with 220 shots on goal (Auston Matthews, 222) and with 248 hits (Radko Gudas, 250). (NHL)
Erik Gudbranson signed a one-year, $1.95 million contract with the Calgary Flames on Friday. “It was kind of a no-brainer when (Calgary coach) Darryl [Sutter] called me,” the defenseman said. “… I was really excited about the opportunity, so here we are now.” Gudbranson said the Flames were the first team to contact him as a free agent and that he got along well with Sutter while playing for the Anaheim Ducks in 2019-20, when Sutter was an adviser to the coaching staff. (NHL)
It’s advice Maple Leafs’ prospect Nick Robertson is familiar with hearing. He’s just not yet ready to take it – not even when it’s coming, as it did on Thursday, from Hayley Wickenheiser, Toronto’s senior director of player development, at the outset of the Leafs’ annual development camp. “I’ve heard it my whole life: I need to dial it back,” said the 19-year-old on a Zoom call Friday. “And I’ve always told [those people], ‘I’ll dial it back when I know where I stand in my career. (TSN)