Last September, Zach Parise and his buddies took a dream golf trip to Scotland and Ireland.
“I played like crap,” he said with a laugh. “But it was an incredible experience.”
But when Parise returned home to Minnesota, he realized something was missing. He still wanted to play hockey. He wanted one last chance to finally lift the Stanley Cup.
“I was fully intending on being done playing, then I got back and you start seeing your buddies are leaving, training camps are starting,” Parise said Sunday morning following a short but intense Avalanche practice. “Then it was brought to my attention that I would be allowed to train and then play for half a year.