Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise – 4 Years, $7.5 Million (Cap Hit Per Year)
Parise’s insane 13-year, $98 million signing has only gotten worse with age. He’s entering his tenth year of the contract this season after a less then stellar 2020-21 campaign. Parise was fourteenth on the team in points scored this season, nabbing a paltry 18 points in 45 games.
Parise’s contract (Along with Ryan Suter’s) will loom in the back of the Wild’s mind as they try to gain momentum after a surprisingly good season. If Minnesota wants to cut the massive contract loose, it’ll cost them – four years at $7.5 million a year is a hard sell. But if the organization wants to make it past the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2003, a hyper aggressive will be necessary. Detroit has the cap space to make it happen. Again, the return here needs to be pretty fantastic for such a rough cap hit. If Yzerman manages to absorb a contract like this, it’ll be for a high draft pick and a top-end prospect. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.