Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise has been placed on the NHL’s COVID protocol list and will be out indefinitely. The team is currently third in the West Division, but this absence could be significant as the deadline approaches. The Wild announced the news late Wednesday afternoon.
The #mnwild today recalled F Joseph Cramarossa from the taxi squad under emergency conditions and announced F Zach Parise has been placed on the NHL’s COVID Protocol Related Absence List.
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) March 24, 2021
Wild Lose Zach Parise to COVID List
Parise is not excelling as he has in the past, but it’s still a productive campaign for the 36-year-old. He has three goals and 12 points in 29 games while averaging 15:35 per game. The Minneapolis native has regularly been among the league’s stars, but it’s fairly clear that his skills are in decline. His scoring has fallen in each of the past three seasons both in total production and per-game. Perhaps more alarming is a sharp downturn in driving offence; his current Corsi For os 43 percent and -5.5 relative Corsi will be the lowest in the 14 years where data has been collected. Parise is still a valued member of the organization for his experience, but his time as a top-six and power-play contributor could be coming to an end.
The New Jersey Devils originally drafted Parise in the first round of the 2003 NHL Draft and he’s been a regular since his debut in 2005-06. He has collected a total of 389 goals and 804 points in 1044 career games. Additionally, he has been an all-star once in 2008-09, received votes in several years for the same honour, and competed for numerous other awards over a 16-year-career.
How Minnesota Replaces Parise
The team already made one move in recalling Joseph Cramarossa from its taxi squad. He is a former third-round selection from 2011. He has four goals and 10 points in 60 career NHL games. Cramarossa will take a spot on the team’s bottom-six. The Wild have plenty of firepower while Parise recovers, but they would prefer him to return soon in a tight division race.
