Back in 2012, the Wild made two huge splashes on the free agent market, signing defenseman Ryan Suter and winger Zach Parise to 13-year, $98MM contracts. While Suter has largely panned out, the same can’t be said for Parise who has often been injured and hasn’t been consistently productive when he has been in the lineup. Despite that, Michael Russo of The Athletic mentioned in an appearance on KFAN 100.3 (audio link) that one Eastern Conference team showed interest in Parise last summer and have recently inquired with regards to his availability. Given the nature of his contract though (a $7.538MM AAV for five more years after this one with a full no-move clause and the potential for salary cap recapture), dealing Parise may be easier to do in the summer but Russo adds that GM Bill Guerin is looking to shake things up and finding a new home for the 35-year-old would certainly be one way to do that.
More from the Western Conference:
- Two years ago, winger Anton Slepyshev failed to lock down a regular role with the Oilers and decided to return to the KHL. The move has been a fruitful one as he was January’s player of the month in that league and is having his most productive year with CSKA Moscow. GM Ken Holland told Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED (audio link) that he has had talks with Slepyshev’s representatives about bringing the 25-year-old back to North America for next season. Holland was active in bringing affordable Europeans over last summer in Gaetan Haas and Joakim Nygard and it appears he may be eyeing a similar strategy for this offseason as well.
- The news doesn’t appear to be good for Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun. Craig Morgan of The Athletic notes (Twitter links) that the results of the imaging done on Chychrun was “definitely not good” to use head coach Rick Tocchet’s description. He has already been ruled out through the weekend and there is no timetable for his return. While the team hasn’t provided any details regarding the nature of the injury, Morgan reports that it’s a hip issue.