If Zach Parise plays, it's with Islanders and nowhere else
Zach Parise of the Islanders shoots the puck during the first period against the Hurricanes in Game 6 of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at UBS Arena on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Zach Parise hasn’t decided whether he wants to continue playing next season. If he does, it will be for the Islanders.
“I think it would be here or nowhere,” Parise, 38, said on Monday as the Islanders conducted their breakup day at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
Parise is a pending unrestricted free agent as he completes a second one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Islanders. He has played all 82 games the last two seasons and had 21 goals and 13 assists this season. He was nominated for the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship.
But his wife and children remain in Minnesota.
“I just enjoy being around these people so much, that’s a huge draw,” Parise said. “On the flip side, it’s been tough being away from the family. There’s a lot of different things that play into it.”
Mayfield’s mindset
Top-four defenseman Scott Mayfield will be a UFA as he completes a team-friendly five-year, $7.25 million deal. Mayfield, 30, has played 428 games for the Islanders since being picked in the second round in 2011.
“I’ve never been in this position, so it’s new to me,” he said. “I think my mindset is the same. This is where I want to be. We’ll see what happens.”
No change for Varlamov
Goalie Semyon Varlamov, completing a four-year, $20 million deal, repeated he wants to remain with the Islanders despite playing in only three of their final 19 games and not at all in the playoffs.
“It didn’t change anything,” Varlamov said. “I want to stay with this team. I’ll be a free agent on July 1, and who knows what this summer will bring.”
No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin will enter the final season of a three-year, $12 million deal but can sign a new extension starting this summer.
“I never think about contracts,” Sorokin said.
Isles files
Defenseman Alexander Romanov, who played through a painful shoulder injury in the postseason, said no decision has been made regarding offseason surgery. He said he will be ready for the start of training camp . . . Pending UFA Pierre Engvall, who had five goals and four assists in 18 games after being acquired from the Maple Leafs, didn’t commit to staying. “I had a really good time here and I think we have a good team,” Engvall said. “I haven’t done much thinking about next season.” . . . Right wing Oliver Wahlstrom said he will resume skating “in the next couple of weeks” and expects to be ready for training camp after suffering a serious knee injury in December . . . Matthew Maggio, a fifth-round pick in 2022 who had 54 goals and 57 assists in 66 games for Windsor (OHL), agreed to a three-year entry-level deal.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
